The Keys of Marinus
by MentalMeander
Summary: A First Doctor story with Ten, Rose, Donna and Jack! The Doctor and his companions must collect the five keys that will save the planet Marinus from the evil Voords. No First Doctor experience needed! Please read and review!
1. The Sea of Death Part 1

**A/N: Yay, it's my first completely angst-free fic! In fact, there's even a bit of crack lurking about. Gasp!**

**Welcome to my slightly mad version of The Keys of Marinus, which was one of the first Doctor Who stories ever. (Aired in 1963!) The most obvious difference here is that instead of One, Ian, Barbara and Susan, you're stuck with Ten, Rose, Donna and Jack. (Stop grumbling, you know you love them.)**

**I recently began watching the classic episodes of Doctor Who, and this was the first story I really found myself enjoying. For those of you with no classic DW experience, don't worry; you don't need to know a single thing about the First Doctor to read this. And for those of you who have seen it, I've tried my best not to make it too boring. I've changed the script _alot_; most of the original lines have been thrown in the bin, but if you see anything that sounds a bit corny, it's probably from the original script.**

**Hope you like it!  
****~M&M**

Disclaimer: Insert witty disclaimer here.

Pairing: No proper pairings, but keep in mind that I'm a Ten/Rose shipper, so that may show in some parts of the fic.

Set: AU because Ten, Rose, Donna and Jack are there, and because the Doctor never says "Hold on, haven't I done this before?" That would be a paradox. And I'm too lazy for a paradox.

* * *

Rose Tyler loved her life.

She laughed as the Tardis whirred noisily, sending three of her four passengers in half a free-fall as it's console room tipped from side to side. The first two crew members, herself and 'Captain' Jack Harkness had remembered, from a long and memorable history of experience, to hold tightly on to whatever they could get their hands on. Unfortunately, the third passenger, Donna Noble, hadn't been so lucky, and was falling back and forth across the domed room, her terrified yells only interrupted by frequent bursts of "_Spaceman_!"

The 'Spaceman' in question was currently dancing around the console, keeping perfect balance as he joyfully hit whatever he could reach with his rubber mallet. Being the superior and oh-so-clever being that he was, the Doctor had taken careful consideration into his companions' welfares, which was exactly why he was drowning out Donna's deafening shouts by blasting _Rock Lobster_ as loud as the Tardis' speakers would let him. And singing along, of course.

"We were at the beach! Everybody had-" "_Spaceman_!" "-matching towels!" Rose managed to get a better hold on the coral pillar she was clinging to and grinned to herself. Yup, this was her brilliant, impossible, non-ginger, fantastically mad life, and she loved it to bits.

"Motion in the ocean! Oooh-ah! His air hose broke! Oooh-ah! Lots of trouble! Oooh-ah! Lots of bubbles! Oooh-" "_Spaceman_!" "-ah!" Despite the fact that Donna was one of her best friends, Rose had to admit that the Doctor had a pretty good system going. It wasn't like Donna could shout until the song was over, since the shop girl knew that the time lord had a whole playlist created for this exact purpose.

"Twistin' round the fire, havin' fun! Bakin'-" "_Spaceman_!" "-potatoes, bakin' in the sun!" The Doctor suddenly stopped singing and moving altogether, only to glare at Jack, who had tried to join in, before he returned to abusing his Tardis and everyone in it.

"There goes a dog fish! Chased by a cat fish!" "_SPACEMAN_!" "In flew a sea robin! Watch out for that piranha! There goes a narwhal!" Rose's mouth dropped open. Where on New Earth did he learn to do such a great narwhal impression?

Before she had time to ask him, and the entire room room juddered to a halt as the Tardis reached its destination. The music switched itself off, just as the Doctor screamed "HERE COMES A BIKINI WHALE!" at the top of his lungs. There was a moment of awkward silence, before he gave the console the same glare he'd given Jack, and bounded over to where Rose had fallen to help her up.

"Here we are then!" he said happily as he grabbed her hand. "Safe and sound!"

"Spick and span!" Jack laughed from next to them, obviously finding the whole situation as funny as Rose.

"Shiver and shake!" Rose giggled back, which only made the Doctor smile even more.

The fourth addition to their party stood up, and gave the Doctor her best look of death before lunging for him, hand raised and ready to slap. Unfortunately she found herself back on the floor, as the giddy time lord had chosen that exact moment to bound towards the Tardis' doors. Which had been purely coincidence. Sort of.

"We're at the seaside!" he exclaimed. "Brilliant!" Rose joined him at the doors, and smiled at the sight that greeted her. They had indeed landed on a beach, covered with small tide pools filled with the same bright blue water that stretched out towards the horizon, glittering eerily in the afternoon sunlight. The two friends linked hands and half ran, half skipped across the beach to get a better look at the ocean.

Donna picked herself up off the ground and began to follow them, muttering darkly to herself. She stepped outside into the bright sunshine and instantly felt herself cheer up at the salty, familiar scent. "It _is_ the sea!" she said with an excited grin, feeling like an excited child. "It's beautiful!"

Jack closed the doors behind them. "It's so...calm." he stated, unable to think of a better word, and Donna nodded. Across the water she couldn't even see a ripple; it almost looked like the sea was frozen.

"What was that?" the ex-time agent said suddenly.

"What was what?"

"It was just...like a shadow or something, out on the water." he frowned, and then shook his head and gave an uncertain grin. "Probably nothing."

Donna shrugged and rolled her eyes, and was suddenly aware of a light pressure on her shoulder. She turned slowly, half expecting Jack's 'shadow' to be there, but was instead confronted by the fact that the American's arm had wound itself around her back.

"Oi!" she yelled, and batted his arm away. "Nice try sunshine, but you're not getting anything that easily, so HA!" Donna ran off towards the Doctor and Rose, Jack's shouts that he really had seen something following close behind her.

Neither of them noticed as something dark with webbed feet emerged from the rocks behind them...

* * *

**Dun dun dun!**

**Thanks for reading! Please leave me a review and tell me what you think, even if you hate it!**


	2. The Sea of Death Part 2

**A/N: Happy Guy Fawkes Night! I know it was a couple of days ago for you lot, but my family lives in Canada, and we're celebrating it tonight so we can stay up all night burning things and not collapse the next day at school. Which is a plus. Although _Remember, remember the seventh of November_ just doesn't have the same ring to it. Sigh.**

**Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Keep 'em coming!**

**~M&M**

* * *

Rose and the Doctor giggled as Donna shouted at Jack. They could have heard their companions a mile away; there didn't seem to be any birds or other people on the beach. On top of that, they couldn't see any vegetation, just tall, pointed rocks and water that circled the land from all directions, making it an island.

"You think we'll be able to go swimming?" Rose ventured.

"Well...there could be anything lurking in the water; sea monsters, giant squids, piranhas, narwhals...sea robins...dog fish..." The Doctor's eyes took on a slightly glazed look, and Rose could have sworn he began humming _Rock Lobster_ to himself.

"Doctor!"

The alien snapped back to reality. "Rose!" he shouted, acting almost like she'd just jumped out at him and yelled 'surprise!' Then again, he'd been in his own little world, and Rose wouldn't put it past him to have forgotten she was there.

"Can we go swimming?"

The Doctor stuffed his hands in his pockets and sniffed. "Don't see why not."

Rose grinned and spun around, just as Jack and Donna reached them. "Hey Jack, we can go swimming!"

"Woo-hoo!" Jack shouted, pumping a fist in the air before turning back the way he came and running as fast as he could towards the Tardis.

Donna stared at her two friends, who looked like they were trying to hold back giggles. "Where's he going?"

Rose replied as seriously as she could. "He's gone to get his water wings."

Donna just stared. "You're kidding, right?"

The Doctor shook his head sadly. "On Women Wept we told him the ladies like men who show off their muscles-"

"And then I happened to mention that water wings are the height of sexiness on 21th century Earth." Rose cut in. "Scary thing is, for him that was, what, two, three hundred years ago, and he still hasn't figured out we were havin' him on."

The Doctor nodded, genuinely looking a little bit worried, and then stopped, a confused look dawning upon his features. "Hullo, what's that over there?" He walked towards one of the tide pools and picked something up. Rose and Donna followed, and gasped at the large object he'd found.

"Is...is that a diamond?" Rose asked.

"Nope!" he replied, popping his 'p' loudly and turning it over in his hands. "Just glass. And it's the same basic compound that makes up this whole beach. Glass instead of sand, that's brilliant!"

"Wait, so all of this," Donna gestured to the beach around them, "is actually glass?"

"Yup! Question is, was the sand turned into glass, or did someone put all this here on purpose?"

Donna sighed. There was another great holiday gone. Deciding to take full advantage of the moment, she kicked off her shoes. Jack could splash around in the ocean all he wanted, all she felt like was a quick wade in one of the pools.

Beside her, Rose had caught on and was planning on joining her friend. Unfortunately, gravity decided that today Rose was thoroughly dislikable, and the blond tipped over, hitting Donna and knocking one of her shoes into the pool.

"Oops! Sorry."

"S'alright," Donna replied. "I'm going in anyway, I'll fish it out."

She grinned at the blushing girl and began to take a step forward...

Suddenly, Rose gasped and grabbed Donna by the shoulders. "Don't!" she yelled. "Look!"

The two women looked at the pool, where Donna's shoe was quickly dissolving.

They looked at each other, and then at the Doctor, who had appeared over Rose's shoulder, having decided that tide pools that ate shoes were much more interesting than blocks of glass. Finally, Donna spoke, or rather, shouted hysterically.

"I WAS GONNA BLOODY PADDLE IN THAT!"

* * *

**I wonder what would happen if Donna and Susan met? Everyone would probably go deaf from the angry shouting and hysterical shrieking.**

**Just kidding, I love them both to bits. :)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. The Sea of Death Part 3

**A/N: Hello! It's me again! Hurrah, I hear you shout! Or not. Annnd now for the next exciting chapter...or segment of a chapter. Whatever.**

**In other news...The Waters of Mars in 4 days!!! I'm _really_ hoping this one's good, since The Next Doctor and Planet of the Dead were _awful_, in my opinion. And, comes to think of it, so was Journey's End. That's 3 episodes in a row! I feel ripped off. :( But from the looks of the trailer this one looks great...hopefully. Also, while we're on the subject, does anyone know if there's going to be any ice warriors in the special? Because I _love_ them. And it's about time they popped up.**

**Anyway, thanks again to everyone reading this! And if you haven't yet, please review. I'd love to know what you all think! :D**

**~M&M**

SciFiGeek14: Jack would also be left as head writer. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. :|

CountryGrl: Arrrrgh typo sorry :( That's me being stupid, not Rose.

* * *

Jack finally returned to the threesome, his t-shirt-jeans combo now upgraded to full on sexy by the addition of his bright yellow water wings.

"Water's acid, Jack." Rose stated monotonously.

"Dammit!"

She smiled sympathetically and patted him on the arm. "But hey, your water wings look pretty good."

"Yeah..." he sighed. He gave the bright items a second glance and grinned. "They do, don't they?"

Beside them, the Doctor was fishing through his pockets. "Jelly babies, calculator, fob watch, Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker's Soul, easter egg painting kit, yeti-repellent, aha! Boots!" He dropped the big black boots in front of Donna, who gave them a disapproving look.

"They're a bit...big."

"They're only bigger on the outside!" When no one got his joke he scowled. "It's just until you can get back to the Tardis for another pair, so you don't cut your feet on the glass."

"Oh, alright then." she huffed as she slid them on and began walking back to the ship.

Rose walked over to the Doctor. "So we can't swim at all?"

"Nah. This is a tidal pool, which means everything in it comes from the ocean."

Rose shivered as she looked out at the strangely still sea. "So everything out there is acid too! A sea of acid..."

* * *

On the other side of the beach, a webbed hand reached towards the Tardis doors and began to turn the lock, but stopped when it heard footsteps. The creature slid away from sight as Donna approached the Tardis.

The redhead was muttering to herself. Out of all the lovely places to have stopped, it just had to be a beach with sand you couldn't walk on and water you couldn't swim in, didn't it? And on top of that, she had that _stupid_ song of the Doctor's stuck in her head. She'd caught herself humming about sea robins for the fourth time a moment ago! Honestly, when she got her hands on that skinny spaceman-

Donna suddenly stopped in mid-mental rant as she noticed something in the sand, and walked slowly towards it. It was a large, webbed footprint.

* * *

"And it comes with instructions and everything! Brilliant!"

Rose rolled her eyes fondly at the time lord, who had taken to examining everything he'd found in his pockets while searching for boots for Donna. He was currently on the easter egg kit, and from his enthusiasm, Rose had a pretty good idea of what they'd be doing when they were back in the vortex.

"And there's these nifty little egg holders, so you can just dip it in the dye without-"

"Doctor! Rose!"

The Doctor instantly dropped the kit, grabbed Rose's hand and dragged the surprised human in the direction of Jack's shout. They found him crouched behind a large wall of rocks, and Rose gasped at what they saw. Beside the time agent were three long capsules, each made of glass and large enough to fit a person. "What are they, submarines?"

The Doctor nodded and crouched down next to Jack. "Designed to go under the acid."

Jack grinned excitedly. "But that means this place is inhabited!"

"But then where is everyone?" At Rose's question the two men frowned. She was right, the beach was completely silent except for them.

The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. As he and Jack began opening the submarine, Rose looked around the beach, searching for some sort of life. She walked further down the beach and froze.

"...Doctor?"

"Mhmm?"

"There's another one over here, and there's something inside it!"


	4. The Sea of Death Part 4

**A/N: I feel **_**so**_** out of sync :( WOM has been out for more than 24 hours and I still haven't seen it! Last night I had a big essay, and now I'm waiting for my brother to get back from hockey so we can watch it together. *Slams head on keyboard* Whhhhhhy? I've had to pretty much avoid every single Doctor Who item on the internet so it isn't spoiled for me. That includes fanfiction. I'm only on here (and resisting the urge to sneak a peek at some fics) for my faithful readers. You should all be **_**very**_** grateful.**

**~M&M**

SciFiGeek14: Yeah, the fact that most people know the ending kind of kills my super-exciting cliff hangers. :( But I'm trying to veer away from the original script to make up for it.

* * *

"Doctor!" Donna shouted across the beach. There was no answer.

The stupid spaceman was probably too preoccupied flirting with Rose to notice. So that left her. Right. Supertemp. Donna turned away and began following the footprints, not noticing that she was also being followed...

* * *

With some help from the sonic screwdriver, Jack and the Doctor pulled the top off of the submarine and looked inside. Rose stood to the side, smiling proudly as Jack reached into her discovery and pulled something out...

"It's a wet suit!" Rose exclaimed. And it was, but not an ordinary one. Its fingers and toes were webbed, and above where the eyes would have been, two long tubes curved towards the back of the neck. A thin metal bar stuck out from its forehead, with an odd, circular symbol at the end of it. There was no doubt that whatever had worn this hadn't been human.

"Well," Jack said, holding the suit up to get a better look at it. "Whatever it is, it's left."

"I don't think so, Jack." the Doctor replied sadly. "Look." He ran his hand down the side of the submarine, where the glass had been cracked. "I'm sorry." he whispered.

Rose bit her lip, and Jack dropped the suit. "You think the acid got in?"

The time lord nodded. "There's a tear in the suit, right there, look." He tore his eyes away from the capsule and looked at his two companions. "We should go back to the ship and try to find Donna."

"Doctor!" Rose suddenly gasped as she stared past her friends. "Look at that building!" The Doctor and Jack looked to where she was pointing. Sure enough, a tall, pyramid-shaped structure was apparent in between the tall pillars of rock.

"Y'know," said Jack, "I'm pretty sure that wasn't there before."

The Doctor grinned. "It's got a perception filter on it! Just like the Tardis, only _much_ bigger."

"Then how come we can see it now?"

"Welllll, I'm guessing that using the sonic screwdriver to open the submarine must have lifted it. Must be a pretty weak filter to stop working from just that. They mustn't have a lot of sonic technology out here. C'mon then! Allons-y!" He gave another huge smile and began to walk towards it, hands in his pockets as he whistled to himself.

Rose frowned. "Doctor."

He stopped walking and pivoted round on his heels to face her. "Hullo!"

"What about Donna?"

"Ah." The Doctor frowned back and looked longingly at the building. "Ah," he repeated. "Alright then, we'll do this; One, we head back to the ship."

Jack nudged Rose with his shoulder, and she grinned; both of them knew the consequences of the Doctor making lists.

"B, we...no, wait a minute." The alien stared thoughtfully at the ground, trying to figure out why something felt wrong. "Nope, that's right. B, we fetch Donna. Probably kicking and screaming. And biting, come to think of it."

He gave his two giggling companions a bewildered look before continuing. "And four; we pay that er, pyramid, building...thing a visit and figure out who those submarines belong to." He flashed a confident grin, linked arms with Rose, attempted to kick Jack (who was also trying to get some arm-on-arm action), and began striding purposefully towards the Tardis.

* * *

The footprints went on for ages, and Donna was beginning to get quite fed up. However, her annoyed huffing was interrupted when she walked nose first into a large building.

Donna blinked, surprised. The whole thing had seemed to sort of...blink into existence! She looked up at the structure and scowled; it reminded her too much of her 'holiday' in Egypt, although it was much taller than she remembered the pyramids being, and the bottom was held together by hundreds of stone pillars, which ran around the edge of the building and formed a sort of tunnel.

She carefully walked along through the passageway, unaware that the creature whose footsteps she'd been following was hiding around a nearby corner, a glistening knife ready in its webbed hand...

* * *

**Oh, come on. I wasn't going to spring the whole seeing-something-that-wasn't-there-a-minute-ago-without-any-explanation gag on you was I? Even _I_ found that bit corny. I loved it, but in my fics magical appearing buildings deserve an explanation.**


	5. The Sea of Death Part 5

**A/N: Ittt's here! Horray! Slightly shorter chapter this time, but I'm working hard to get the next bit done. I have a long weekend, which I'm going to use to the max. I have a lot of time at school to use for writing, but my school's blocked the sites I use to watch DW, and it's hard to write this story without a reminder of what happens next. :( Anyway, hope you enjoy this bit!**

**~M&M**

CountryGrl: Thanks! I always found that bit with the building so corny. Especially since they've only just noticed the submarines that have been sitting at their feet the entire time. Silly William!

KittyKayZorse: Spoil away, I finally watched it! DT's best performance yet, in my opinion. Because of the last specials, I was starting to think End of Time was going to be rubbish, but now I can't wait!

SciFiGeek14: Haha Human Nature is win! Especially with the deleted scene where DT has to talk for around about a minute without hesitation, deviation or whatever the other thing is. Makes me smile :)

* * *

"Donna!"

"Donna!"

"DONNA!"

"Oi! Earthgirl!" Oh well, the Doctor thought. If that didn't get her to reply, nothing would.

"It's no use." Rose sighed. "She's not in here."

The three of them walked out the Tardis. "Do you think someone could have taken her?" Jack asked.

The Doctor stared out at the sea. "A glass beach, an ocean made of acid...I'm starting to think that visitors aren't exactly welcome here."

"I'll have a look around," the American replied. "See if I can find any clues."

The Doctor nodded. From the look in his eyes, Rose could tell he was getting worried. She stepped closer and took his hand. "She's probably fine." she said softly. "You know Donna; she can handle herself."

He gave a weak smile. "Nah, it's her captors I'm more worried about!" he joked.

Rose giggled. "Didn't know what they were getting themselves into did they? She's probably giving out slaps right now! Like that time on Felspoon-"

"With that old bat selling trans-dimensional acid disguised as cream cheese-"

"And she had you in that headlock-"

"And Donna just waltzed over and whacked her!"

They both fell about laughing at the memory, and Rose was surprised to feel herself suddenly pulled into a tight hug that lifted her feet right off the ground.

"Thanks." the Doctor mumbled softly, so that Jack couldn't hear, already feeling some of the worry over losing Donna melt away.

Rose smiled into his coat and pressed a comforting kiss on to his shoulder. "No probs."

She gave him one last squeeze before letting go. "So you think something definitely got her?"

"Well...judging by the absence of shouting and slapping, plus the fact that she's not in the Tardis, _plus_ those footprints Jack's been trampling over for the past minute and twenty three seconds..." Rose and Jack both stared at the ground with open mouths.

"...I'd say yes."

* * *

As Donna approached the corner, the assassin raised its knife, ready to strike when she came into range. As she came closer, it leaned back, pressing itself against the wall behind it in anticipation.

Of course, this wasn't any normal wall. It was an old, mysterious wall on the outside of an older, even more mysterious building, in the middle of an older, extremely mysterious island. Which is why, in the span of a few seconds, the wall rotated on its axis, and the creature fell through the old-and-fairly mysterious wall and out of sight.

Donna turned the corner and groaned angrily. Another long passage stretched out before her. The redhead gave a sigh and forced her stiff legs onward, not knowing that aching feet could have been the least of her problems.

* * *

**Wow, I really struggle with fluff. I'm not sure why, I just have a hard time writing it, despite the fact that I love to read it. But ho hum, I try. I'm an angst author. :) But seeing as I managed to lure the little fluff-writer out of the back of my head, I think it's about time you all let your inner reviewers out for some sun! :D**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. The Sea of Death Part 6

**A/N: Wow! Only four days since I last updated; it's like Christmas has come early! Which it may have done anyway, considering they're already blasting the Christmas music at work. And it's _really_ bad stuff. Like Hilary Duff singing Jingle Bells. And sped up covers of songs that were once good. And the Sound of Music, for some reason. Anyway, same old stuff, here the next chapter, hope you like it, and please review!**

**~M&M**

* * *

Jack ran up to the pyramid. "It's enormous!"

The trio had followed Donna's large footprints, and hadn't been at all surprised when they led to the structure. The American ran a hand over the finely cut bricks that lined the stone walls. "There's no mortar. Whoever built it had a pretty good idea what they were doing."

Beside her, Rose felt the Doctor go stiff. She turned towards him. "Doctor?" He was staring up at the pyramid, brow creased and a confused look on his face. When he didn't answer she reached out and gave his hand a squeeze. "You alright?"

His eyes snapped down to meet hers. "Fine!" he replied quickly.

Rose crossed her arms and shot him a doubtful look. "What's going on?"

The Doctor pulled on his ear. "Wellll, it's probably nothing, but there's just something...odd about that building."

"Like what?" Jack asked.

The time lord stared straight ahead, looking right through Rose and Jack as he concentrated, trying to find the source of his anxiety. "Something...inside. Something, or someone's calling out..." He suddenly looked up at the structure as it all became clear. "Telepathy. It's fairly unnoticeable, but still pretty strong. And it's not affecting us, so there's probably nothing to worry about." He turned away from the pyramid to look at his companions. "We'll just have to be careful." They nodded.

"Now then," he continued. "I think the best thing to do is split up and circle around this thing. That way we'll get out of here faster. Jack, you take Rose and go that way. I'll take the other way, and we'll meet back here in a bit, hopefully with Donna. Okie dokie?"

Jack saluted and began to walk along the side of the pyramid, but stopped to wait for Rose, who had reached up to give her best friend a hug.

"You really think it's not a big deal?" she whispered into the Doctor's ear.

He let go and stuffed his hand into his pocket, searching for something. "Let's just try to get out of here as soon as possible." He drew his hand out with a successful grin, and handed her a sewing needle.

Rose took it warily. "So we might be up against a bunch of aliens in wet suits who can see into our minds, and you want me to poke 'em to death?"

The Doctor snorted. "Don't be daft. Rose listen carefully...If Jack kidnaps you and tries to sell you to the highest bidder at a Venusian auction, just use this to pop one of his water wings. That usually sorts him out."

Rose blinked. "Right...Did you dream this, Doctor?"

"It happened with Donna!" he insisted, voice rising a pitch...or two.

"...Where was I?"

"Sunbathing!" he all but shouted, his coat swishing against his sides as he raised his arms to reinforce his point. "Now go!" He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around.

Rose rolled her eyes fondly before she trotted off, still clutching the needle in her hand. After a few seconds she turned round to face the Doctor. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

He grinned back. "Not if I see you first."

* * *

Jack smirked as Rose practically skipped over to him, noticing the happy blush that had crept on to her cheeks. Rose grinned back at the American, and slipped her hand into his and they continued walking through the tunnel. Despite what the Doctor thought, she loved Jack with all her heart. Growing up she'd been an only child, and soon after she'd met him Jack had easily slipped into the role of a big brother, something she'd never even known she'd wanted, but had been scarily easy to adapt to. The blond slipped the sewing needle she'd been given into her pocket and rolled her eyes before turning towards her friend.

"So..." Rose said, tongue poking through her teeth as she smiled mischievously. "Ever been to a Venusian auction?"

* * *

**Ta!**


	7. The Sea of Death Part 7

**A/N: Hello! Yeah, I left this one a bit later than usual, sorry. :( But this bit's quite long, so I think that pretty much makes up for it. *shifty eyes***

**Hope you enjoy, and please review!**

**~M&M**

SciFiGeek14: Nope, just him being weird. Like usual. He's referring to a past experience, sorry if it confused you. :P

* * *

Not far ahead, Donna was fuming. She'd had enough. She was hot, she was bored, and worst of all, her feet ached from the gigantic boots the Doctor had given her. Grumbling to herself, she slipped a throbbing foot out of its boot and held it in her hand, trying to massage some life back into it.

Unfortunately, while Donna was a Super-Temp, she was in no way a Super-Yoga-Temp. In fact, the only time she'd ever tried anything of the sort was a few years ago, when she'd been pressured into attending the aerobics session the office she'd been working for at the time had held during lunch. Half an hour later, after kicking three people in the face, bruising both her knee and her shoulder, and suffering from an empty stomach, Donna had sworn off exercise for as long as she lived, no matter how much her mother nagged at her to get into shape.

Taken off balance by her strange position, the redhead fell to the side and hit the wall she was half-standing next too and, in the style of a wet-suit clad amphibious humanoid dressed in black, the moment she hit the structure, the wall rotated, taking her with it. However, unlike the wet-suit clad amphibious humanoid dressed in black, Donna Noble had the good sense to let out a loud, terrified shriek before the wall closed, and she was trapped inside the building.

* * *

"And I was right!" Jack said. "The remote control was hidden inside the gavel the entire time!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Rose and Jack stopped chatting and froze, before turning towards each other in surprise.

"But, that sounded like-"

"Donna." Rose finished, her voice full of worry.

The two friends ran to the end to the nearest corner. Rose reached it first, and was about to turn the corner when she felt two strong hands grab her by the shoulders. Surprise shot through her as Jack pushed her up against the side of the pyramid. Rose's eyes widened. The Doctor had been right!She instantly reached for the needle in her jeans pocket, but stopped when Jack motioned for her to be quiet, and peeked round the corner. Oh.

After a few seconds Jack released her, and the two shifted around the corner.

There was no one there.

* * *

In the other direction, the Doctor had stopped walking, and was examining the pyramid. Jack was right, whoever had built it had definitely known what they were doing. Stepping closer, the Doctor placed a hand on the wall beside him to get a better look, and jumped back when the entire brick moved, and twisted round on an invisible axis.

_Well, that's clever_. The Doctor stared up at the building and frowned, still curious about the telepathic signal coming from inside. The time lord glanced from side to side to make sure no one else was around, and then turned back to the wall, mind made up as he smiled brightly.

"Hullo! So what's your name?" He paused for a moment and nodded, seemingly intrigued. "Mhmm, Arthur. Nice name. I once knew a horse named Arthur. And a turtle. And a dog with no nose. And a jar of marmalade. Funny how everyone I meet seems to be named Arthur, isn't it?" There was another pause. "I suppose you want to gobble me up, don't you?" He sniffed, and sighed. "May as well, then."

Giving one last look to his surroundings to make sure Donna definitely wasn't outside, the Doctor strode confidently towards Arthur The Wall, letting it rotate, and trapping him inside the pyramid.

Which left only Arthur.

* * *

"But...she was here!" Rose exclaimed. "I heard her!"

"Well, we heard something, that's for sure."

"But it was Donna! I know it was!"

Jack nodded, smiling to himself. There was no way anyone could mistake the scream of Donna Noble. He looked down at Rose, who had gone strangely rigid. "You alright?"

She looked back up at him. "Jack...how long do you think we've been walking?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe ten minutes. Why?"

She bit her lip. "Because if this pyramids as big as I think it is, then I'm pretty sure we would have bumped into the Doctor by now."

* * *

As her eyes began to adjust to the light, Donna started walking forward. She was in a dark, stone hallway. Swallowing nervously, she felt the wall beside her, trying to get her bearings.

Behind her, something moved, and she turned around, startled, but there was nothing there. _Stop it_, she told herself, trying to control her panicked breathing. _There's nothing there, you're just hearing things_. But there was another sound, and then another. _Footsteps_. She gave a soft, startled cry when something in the darkness moved, and after a second she realized it was the figure of a man; tall and wearing a large, white cloak, with a hood that covered his face.

She took a few steps back, waiting for him to attack her, but he only gazed at her for a few seconds before walking off, and out of sight.

Donna continued to walk backwards, not taking her eyes off the dark passage from which he'd appeared. "It's okay," she whispered to herself, voice quivering with nervousness. "He's gone, it's okay..."

And that was when something grabbed her from behind.

* * *

**Oh come one, cliffhanger endings are _fun_! Even if a lot of the readers know what's going to happen. But I don't care, I'll stick them in anyway.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. The Sea of Death Part 8

**A/N: Yes!! I'm not dead, I was just...missing. Yup thats it...Okay so it's been a while, I know. December's been very busy, and between Christmas, work, exams and converting a friend into a Doctor Who addict, I haven't had any time to do any writing, or even read any fics. Yeah, I know, no excuse for disappearing for so long.  
Okay, how about this? I'll go jump off a cliff, and you lot can poke at my dead body with sticks for a bit. I think that sounds fair.  
So, anyway, happy 2010! It's a new year, we have a new head writer, a new Doctor...sorry, had to go and have a small emotional break-down for a second there. As if David regenerating wasn't enough, they had to go and make it THE most emotional moment ever, didn't they?  
But despite my inner distress over Ten's death, here it is: the next chapter/installment/year of me butchering one of the greatest First Doctor stories in existence. Just kidding, we all know I'm great. ...That was a joke. I think. Blimey, not doing fanfiction for a month has done some freaky stuff to my ego.  
Miss you David!  
~M&M**

* * *

Donna screamed, twisting and thrashing in a frantic effort to escape. Behind her, her captor held her tightly, refusing to let go until suddenly, his arms tightened, jerked, and then went slack. She pulled herself out of the loose grip and twisted around just in time to see the black figure that had grabbed her drop to the floor. After a few moments of stillness, she crept closer, trying to get a better look at what had attacked her.

It was dark in the hallway, but Donna could easily make out its webbed fingers and toes; this was obviously been what she'd been following. Although, by the looks of it, she may have been the one being followed. A few seconds passed, and it still lay unmoving on the stone floor. Donna inched forwards. "H-hello?" she whispered, and nudged it with the toe of the Doctor's boot, but as she did so Donna noticed the long, glittering dagger which was buried deep in its back.

She clasped a hand over her mouth, a spun blindly in the dark, hysterical and terrified. The darkness seemed to swallow her, and her heart skipped a beat when her heavy breathing was joined by the sound of footsteps. Every muscle in her body seemed to freeze, and she backed slowly away from the source of the sound, hoping whoever it was would pass by. They didn't.

The large, dim figure of the hooded man swam back into her view, his white cloak standing out eerily in the darkness. Donna pressed herself against the wall behind her, hoping frantically that he would leave, just like the last time, but he came closer, stepping over her captors body as his arms reached for her.

* * *

Rose walked briskly in front of Jack, their still-linked hands the only thing stopping her from breaking into a run. He let her pull him along, squeezing her hand whenever she turned from side to side, eyes wide and searching frantically for any sign of the Doctor.

"Rose..." Jack whispered sympathetically, planting his feet to the ground and pulling her back towards him. "We've walked around this thing at least twice by now. If the Doctor or Donna were still here we would have seen them."

Rose pulled her hand out of his and nodded, eyes fixed on the floor so Jack wouldn't spot her frustrated tears. She slid down towards the floor and crossed her legs. Taking a deep breath, Rose tried to organize her thoughts, tried to figure out what was happening logically and stop crying like some weepy little kid. It wasn't that she was upset over losing the Doctor-she knew they'd find each other eventually-but she was so frustrated that there was nothing left for her to do, frustrated that she was giving up looking for him, when she knew he never would if he was looking for her.

Rose wiped at her tears with her sleeve, and continued to try and figure out what was happening without getting too emotional. "So w-we've been around it a few times, and there's definitely no doors, yeah? But then where could they have gone?"

Jack began to walk around, examining the wall closely to see if there was anything they'd missed. "Maybe they found each other and went back to the ship?" He and Rose glanced at each other and exchanged amused looks, knowing very well that neither the Doctor or Donna would willingly abandon them. Jack returned to studying the pyramid's wall. "Maybe...a teleport or something?" He reached out, and laid a hand against the wall to search for cracks.

Rose smiled and closed her eyes as memories of leather jackets and Welsh mayors in skin suits filled her mind with nostalgia. "Probably not. The Doctor's _very_ good with teleports." When there was no reply, she reopened her eyes and glanced back to where Jack had been standing. He was gone.

"Jack?" Her heart stopped. "Jack? _Jack?_" First Donna, then the Doctor, and now Jack. Whatever was going on, something was picking them off, one by one, and she was next. Rose whimpered and backed towards the wall, eyes looking around wildly to try as she tried to find what was after her. He back hit the wall, and then...

And then everything spun. Her back remained fixed against the wall but the island twisted out of view of her panicked eyes, and was replaced with the image of a dark hallway and a large, white, robed figure reaching out to grab her...

* * *

**In other words Rose got captured by the wall. Sorry if this isn't the best I've ever written; I'm suffering from a bad cold and was tempted to just turn my computer off and hide in bed, but I bared my teeth in determination and tackled my responsibilities full on. You should all be very grateful. But if you're all out of gratefulness I'll gladly accept reviews instead.  
Thanks for reading!**


	9. The Sea of Death Part 9

**A/N: Wow that was quick! For me, at least. I'm trying to make up for my absence during December/January. Also, I've just noticed that I'm on chapter 9, and we're about 15 minutes into a 2 and half hour long story. I love this fic, but it does tend to get the way of writing other things. More angsty, serious things which, let's be honest, I'm a bit better at. But don't worry, I'm not going to abandon this, just going to try and speed it up, which should be easier since my life's a tad less insane right now. Yes, I do have a life outside this site! Amazing, I know. Shut up and read the fic before I start ranting about the stock market or something. Quick.  
~M&M**

* * *

Close by, Jack kept as still as possible in the dark, waiting for his eyes to adjust as he thought through what had just happened. The wall had twisted round, bringing him along with it, and now he was inside the pyramid. _Well,_ he thought to himself, wishing there was someone he could talk to. _That explains what happened to the Doctor and Donna._ He turned back and felt the wall, trying to see if he could get back to Rose and show her what he'd found, but it wouldn't budge. Hopefully she'd find her own way into the pyramid, but right now he couldn't worry about her; he had to see if he could find the Doctor and figure out what was happening.

* * *

"It was awful!" Donna exclaimed. "I was trying to to get my feet to stop throbbing because of those boots, no thanks to you, and the wall seemed to sort of...swallow me up! Next thing I know there's this weird black thing in a wet suit, and he's dead,-_dead, Spaceman!_-and then that guy grabbed me!" She crossed her arms angrily, wishing that just for once something normal would happen to her. "So what now?" she asked the Doctor, who was lying on the other side of their cell. "Doctor?"

He suddenly raised his head and looked around the cramped room suspiciously, one eyebrow jerking upwards in slight disgust. "Can you smell pears?"

Donna just stared at him in disbelief. "Pears?" she half-shouted. "We're stuck in the middle of a pyramid, locked in some tiny room, and being held captive by someone wearing a giant white tablecloth, and you're asking about _pears_?" When the Doctor had been thrust into the cell she'd initially been happy to see him, but now Donna had her suspicions that even he didn't know what to do.

The Doctor just looked at her. "I can smell pears." he confirmed with a slight nod of the head, which he then dropped back to the ground. Donna let out a frustrated moan, ran her hands through her hair, and was about to return to her mumbling when the Doctor mumbled, "It was a habit."

"What?"

"It wasn't a tablecloth he was wearing. It was a monk's habit." He propped himself up on to his elbow. "From around...ooh, let's say...the Fourteenth Century? And considering the style of his clothes, that places us somewhere around the...Centaurus System, if I'm not mistaken. Quite close to Alpha Centauri! Brilliant!"

Donna was about to reply that, yes, it was brilliant that they knew where they were, but how was that going to get them out? But, hey, at least they could smell pears! She was interrupted however, when the door to the cell opened and someone was thrust in.

"Rose!" the Doctor shouted before leaping up and engulfing the girl in a huge hug.

"Wotcher." Rose smiled into his chest, hugging him back just as tightly before letting go and looking up at him with a smile. "What's new?"

"Oooh this and that, got captured by a pyramid, got yelled at by Donna, and I met this brilliant wall named-"

"Donna!" The Doctor was cut off when Rose leaped over to Donna and threw her arms around her. Donna returned the hug, delighted there was someone here who would actually talk sense. "He been bothering you?"

"Ugh, you have no idea! Been going on about bloody pears for the past half-hour!"

After taking a second to weigh whether he should inform Donna they'd only been held captive for fourteen minutes or try to work out how they were going to escape, the Doctor chose the latter. "Anyway!" he interrupted, earning a cold stare from Donna and an eager smile from Rose. "From what I've gathered, I'm guessing that monk lives here, and seems to be trying to defend himself, hence the glass beach and sea of acid. Whatever grabbed Donna was probably whatever was wearing that wet suit we found on the beach, and seems to be intruding this place as much as we are. With one major difference, of course; they've been killed, while we've been left alive."

His companions stared at him.

"What wet suit?" asked Donna.

"What monk?" Rose added.

The Doctor felt like slapping himself. This was going to take a while to explain.

* * *

Having adjusted to the dark, Jack began walking down the long corridors. After what only seemed like a couple of minutes, he heard a loud bang coming from somewhere in front of him, and moved quickly in the direction of the noise, cautiously drawing his gun as he did so.

Turning the corner, he managed to catch a glimpse of a tall, black creature, wearing what looked like the wet suit they'd found on the beach, lunging for a large man dressed in a monk's cloak. The creature tackled the man, wielding a long dagger as he did so, but the monk managed to grab his arm, stopping the blade mere centimetres from his face. Deciding to attempt to stop the fight, and figure out who's side he was on later, Jack ran towards the black creature, grabbing it around the waist and throwing it off the man before pointing his gun straight in between the alien's eyes. For defense, purposes only, of course.

A few seconds passed, both Jack and the creature's heavy breaths barely filling the silence. Jack took a step forward, forcing the alien into the corner, and was about to question it when suddenly the wall behind the creature opened up.

But it didn't rotate like before, this wall simply disappeared, and the black form disappeared into a deep chasm. A loud, piercing scream accompanied it's fall, and was only broken by a loud splash. Jack wrinkled his nose in disgust, not even needing to look into the pit to know what was down there. It was acid, not unlike the pools on the beach, but much easier to smell due to the enclosed area.

He turned, and saw the monk standing on the far side of the room, hand pressed down on the lever that had condemned his attacker. Jack readjusted his grip on his gun and pointed it at the man's chest. He wanted answers, and this stranger was going to give it to him no matter what.

* * *

**It's nearly Valentine's Day. That means you should review. I'm not sure why, it just does.**


	10. The Sea of Death Part 10

**A/N: Look at that! 10 whole chapters! Yeah, so we might not be so far into the actual storyline, but I'm still going to celebrate this landmark (Do you still call it that when it's not physical? I know there's another word for it but I can't be bothered. You all know what I mean.) with balloons and LOTS of cake. You're all invited! At least, if you can make it to Canada before I gobble it all up. I like cake.**

**~M&M**

KittyKatZorse: Wow thanks! I haven't really noticed how I'm writing those two. I'm always a bit worried writing Donna since you have to make her quite fiery and angry, but also give her a lot of substance, but I'm glad I'm doing it right!

SciFiGeek14: Haha yeah by the time I finish this I'll probably have to get one of the nurses at my rest home to type it out for me. Maybe my final act before I die could be posting the last chapter? Cor, that'd be dramatic.

Jasper winked: Here it is! I'm sure you've been lying awake at night wondering what happens next (No sense in that, really, it's all on Wikipedia. Yup, my stories are that popular!) but you've finally been put out of your misery. My goal with this story is to post a chapter _about_ once a week, which I think I've been doing quite well, so hopefully the waits between cliffhangers won't be too devastating for you. :)

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far!

* * *

The stranger leaned against the wall, breathing heavily from his fight with the creature. In the struggle his hood had fallen down, revealing the face of an old man, features worn and wrinkled by time, but whose eyes held a strange kindness, as well as much fear as they stared down the gun barrel. Taking note of this, Jack kept his gun pointed at the man's chest and was about to ask his first question when the stranger beat him to it, straightening slightly in order to maintain some dignity, but still shaking with exhaustion.

"Why do you protect me?"

"I was trying to protect you both." Jack answered truthfully. He frowned. "You didn't need to kill him." Somewhere beneath the adrenaline and his still quickened heartbeat, it occurred to Jack that he was beginning to sound like the Doctor. He wasn't sure what he thought of that.

"It would have killed us both." the man gasped out. His heart got the better of him, and Jack walked towards the monk, helping him stand properly, but still keeping the gun locked on its target.

"Are you a prisoner here?"

"I can never leave...but in a way, this is my home." Jack pulled his hand back, only expecting the worst from the man's enigmatic answer. If the monk lived here, then he could very well be the whoever had captured his companions.

"Alright, enough with the riddles." He took a step back. "What have you done with my friends?"

"Safe." The monk replied quickly, trying to calm the irate time agent. "I saw your machine materialize, and until I knew otherwise I had to treat you as potential enemies. The Voord were trying to penetrate my walls." He gestured towards the wall his attacker had fallen through.

"The Voord?"

"The man you just saved me from was a Voord. It's many years since the last assault, but now they have returned! And...if they continue to come, they are bound to succeed eventually."

Jack snorted. "I thought you had enough booby traps here to keep you safe forever."

"They're clever, and they'd get through eventually; I know it."

"Haven't you got any backup? How many of you are there?" Jack felt slightly worried. If a holy man was being forced to do all the fighting, then there couldn't be too many people taking refuge from these...Voord."

"How many?" The man gave a sad chuckle, but his face quickly fell. "I am alone."

Jack lowered his gun slightly, empathizing with the monk for a moment as a look of complete loneliness fell across his features, but the stranger looked away, quickly changing the subject.

"But please...let us release your companions and then I-I'll try to explain."

Jack snapped back to focus, bringing his gun back up to meet its former target. "Good idea. You lead the way." He jerked the tip of the gun in the direction of the hallway, and the monk obeyed.

Jack followed the man through a triangular door, which his new companion slid shut behind them. They walked off, unaware of the cold, black eyes of a Voord that watched them leave.

* * *

Rose leaned back against the door of their cell and scuffed the toe of her trainer against the dirty floor. "So, if he's been killing those-those..." she searched for the word. "...wetsuit things, why's he kept us alive?"

Donna shrugged. "Maybe he just hasn't gotten around to killing us yet." She frowned, feeling worried.

"Nah," the Doctor said, squeezing Donna's shoulder as he did so. "We'll be fine. Jack's still out there, isn't he? And while he's still free we've still got some hope, eh?"

Rose bit her lip, and looked down at the ground. "Actually Doctor...Jack's not free. He was captured before I was."

She waited for the Doctor's face to fall, but he just smiled. "Oh really? I don't know about that."

He nodded in the direction of the door she was leaning against, and she turned around, grinning as she looked through the cell's bars. Marching proudly towards them, gun in hand, the monk in front of them, and a huge grin spread across his face, was Captain Jack Harkness.

"Miss me?"

"You took your bloody time!" Donna fumed, as the monk produced a collection of keys and slid one into the lock, opening the door.

"Well hello to you too, Miss Chiswick." Jack turned towards Rose and the Doctor. "How you two doin'?"

"Neutral." replied the Doctor. "I met a wall, which was brilliant, but then I smelled pears."

Rose just grinned. "Good to see you!"

Jack winked back at her. "You to. I'd kiss ya, but I've kind of got my hands full." He gestured to the gun he was still holding, and who it was pointed at.

Everyone turned their attention to the monk.

"Hello!" said the Doctor. "I'm sorry, we didn't get properly introduced earlier, did we? I'm the Doctor."

"Yeah, like we had time to introduce ourselves when he was shoving us in that cell." Donna mumbled to Rose, who nudged her. Donna nudged her back and they both giggled.

The monk extended a hand. "Arbitan." Jack felt a surge of worry as the monk came closer to his friend, but felt relieved when the Doctor leaned forward and shook Arbitan's hand warmly. After a meaningful look from the Doctor, Jack finally lowered his gun and placed it back in its holster, trusting that the Doctor knew what he was doing.

"Hullo." said Rose, stepping forward and giving Arbitan a kind smile. "I'm Rose, Rose Tyler and this," she pointed at Donna, who was still giving Arbitan cold looks. "is Donna Noble."

The monk greeted them with a warm nod before the Doctor situated himself back into the limelight. "And you've met Jack of course! So, Arbitan, why don't you tell us what's been going on?"

Arbitan simply beckoned. "Come with me."

* * *

**Another landmark! 10 chapters in and we're actually getting to the plot. Ok, not _completely_ there but it's my story and I say we're there.**

**And another landmark! We finally have a name for everything! Honestly, it was getting tiring writing about "them there black creatures" and "the monk". (Ooooh sounds like a Time Lord!) Everyone say hello to Arbitan (Yay!) and the Voords! (Boo!) Wow, it's a relief I actually have something to call them now! :D**

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. The Sea of Death Part 11

**A/N: One day between updates! Now _that's_ amazing! But to tell the truth this is the chapter where things really start to kick off, and everyone finally figures out what's going on, which makes it a bit easier to write! Because of the sudden outburst of explanations, I used a lot of material from the original script for this, (And quite right too. Terry Nation describes all the technical stuff far better than I can) which I did for a lot of Arbitan's lines in the last chapter since I didn't want to lose his character. But I've added a few things that weren't in the original episode, so I hope everyone likes it. Also, if I follow the same outline I'm planning at the moment, I'm thinking there might be about 2 chapters left before we get to episode 2! For all the non-classic Who fans reading this, The Keys of Marinus was divided into 6 episodes, of which the first was called The Sea of Death. (Hence the chapter name) We're almost at episode 2, The Velvet Web, which is a great episode, and I can't wait to see what I can do with it!**

**~M&M**

Aslook: Haha the Meddling Monk and his Tiny Tardis! I love the ending of that episode, it always makes me smile! But I'd always wondered in that episode, if he was a Time Lord, why was he using stuff like record players to fool all the medieval folk? You'd think he'd use something a bit more...Time Lordy. Although I guess people in the 60s didn't exactly have Super Mega Ipod Stereos like we do. Anyway, thanks for pointing, that out, I hadn't noticed!

Jasper winked: Wellll, keep in mind that this is a 60's episode, so the villains are pretty black and white. But who knows? It's my story so I might give them a bit of a twist. I've have got a bit of a soft spot for the Voords, and despite the fact that they have aerials sticking out of their heads I think they deserve a nice twist. Provided I can think of one.

Thanks for the reviews everybody! They're getting me through the cold Canadian winter. Which actually isn't very cold this year. All our snow's melting. :(

* * *

Arbitan led the four friends through the dark corridor, easily finding his way in the dim light. Trailing behind slightly, Rose linked hands with the Doctor. "So, got any idea what's going on?"

"Not a clue."

She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and gave him a huge grin. "More fun that way, yeah?"

"Oooh, definitely." He suddenly stopped walking.

"What is it?"

The Doctor stuck a finger into the air, as if he were checking the direction of the air, "That telepathic source I felt earlier? It's getting nearer."

Before she could stop him, the Doctor was dragging her forward, bounding past their surprised companions and towards a nearby triangular door. He burst through the opening, and Rose found herself standing in a large room shining with light. In the middle of the chamber long, metallic struts rose out of the floor, keeping a large, glass pentagonal structure aloft over their heads, which glowed brightly, lighting the entire room with rays of white light.

"Oh, that's _beautiful_!" The Doctor exclaimed, walking around the structure in awe. "Absolutely brilliant!" Arbitan entered the room behind them. He was followed by Jack and Donna, whose eyes instantly traveled upwards to stare at the dome.

"It used to be called the Conscience of Marinus." The monk's voice echoed throughout the room. "It was manufactured about two thousand years ago, when our technology reached its peak."

"The Conscience of Marinus..." Rose mused, instantly thinking of mad scientist and living brains in glass jars. She grinned. "I like that. Who's Marinus then?"

Arbitan stared at her. "Marinus is the name of our planet." Rose fell silent, blushing slightly.

"So what does it do?" Jack asked.

"At first this machine was simply a judge and jury that was never wrong and unfair," Arbitan continued. "And then we added to it, improved on it, made it more and more sophisticated until finally it became possible to radiate its power and influence the minds of men throughout the planet. They no longer had to decide what was wrong or right. The machine decided for them."

"So the Conscience removed free will." the Doctor stated coldly, his eyes growing dark as he began to understand what was happening. Arbitan wavered, taken aback by the Doctor's sudden change of tone.

"It was possible to eliminate evil from the minds of men for all of time! Surely you can see how wonderful this machine was. Marinus became unique in the universe; robbery, fear, hate and violence were unknown to us." He straightened up, puffing out his chest proudly as he did so. "We had created a utopia!"

The Time Lord marched towards the monk angrily. "And what about choice? Free will? How can Marinus be perfect, if its citizens are being restrained from thinking for themselves? How can good have any value when there's no evil to compare it to?"

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong, Doctor. There is evil on Marinus. A great, and terrible evil. After seven centuries of prosperity and man named Yartek managed to overcome the Conscience. He and his followers, the Voords, were able to rob, exploit, kill, cheat...Our people could not resist because violence is alien to them."

"Well whose fault was that, _Dumbo_?" Donna shouted at Arbitan.

Behind her, Jack turned, certain he'd heard a noise coming from the door through which they'd entered. "Doctor..."

"I know." The Doctor replied. Everyone fell silent as they realized one of the Voord was on the other side of the doorway.

"These doors are strong." said Arbitan. "The Voord will not get through, and there is a passageway leading from here to the beach, which cannot be accessed from outside the pyramid. You will be able to use that to escape this place."

Donna frowned. "But can't they hear us?" Arbitan nodded.

The Doctor turned back to Arbitan. "So what about the Conscience? It must have become a huge danger to you. If Yartek managed to get hold of it he and the Voords could control Marinus! Why didn't you destroy it?"

Arbitan smiled. "We always hoped to find a way of modifying it and making it again irresistible." The Doctor winced. "So instead of destroying it we removed the five key micro-circuits."

"Where are they now?" Rose asked.

"One of them I kept. There it is." Arbitan pointed towards the Conscience. In the side of the sphere was a small hole, which held a thin, transparent circuit-board. "The other four were taken and put in places of safety all over Marinus. Only I know where they are.

"I have tried to make new keys, in order to try and save Marinus, but I failed. The keys are very simple but the micro-circuits inside are very complicated. A permutation of numbers and signals that would take a thousand years to unravel. And besides, since the keys were hidden, I have worked on this machine and modified it so that when they're replaced-"

"-the Conscience will become irresistible and you'll be able to control the Voords again." The Doctor interrupted bitterly.

"Yes. The time has come for the keys to be recovered. Throughout the years my followers have all left me, one by one going to try and retrieve the keys. They have never returned." Arbitan turned his back on the time travelers and began to walk away sadly. "Last year...I finally sent my daughter. She, too, has not come back, and I have no one to comfort me."

Rose's heart sank slightly for this lonely man and she took a step forward to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder, but the Doctor grabbed her by the elbow and gently drew her back towards him, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her a meaningful look. He knew all too well what was coming next.

"But now your coming has brought new hope. Yes..." Arbitan turned around and smiled at them.

"You must find the keys for me!"

* * *

**Blimey, Arbitan's a bit of jerk, isn't he? At least he is when I write him.**

**Argh after writing this I realized Donna doesn't really get to do much in this chapter, which isn't really her. But don't worry, any Classic Who fans know that eventually everyone gets of split up and do their own thing in this story, and when that happens I can give everyone their own little moments of glory. (Yay!)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	12. The Sea of Death Part 12

**A/N: Wow, I'll have you know I'm extremely proud of this chapter. It was really fun to write, and I think it shows; it's my longest chapter yet! So we're (probably) about one chapter away from episode two, and it's starting to get really exciting!**

**~M&M**

SciFiGeek14: Hmmm I'm still trying to decide who'll do what when I get to that bit. I really don't want to assign each character to a specific one in the classic series, (and so far that's what's been happening) and I think when I get to that bit I'll just see where it goes, and see which character fits best into that role at that time. Although I think Donna would be perfect for that; I find that so far I've been focusing mostly on her more fiery side, and putting her into Barbara's place will draw out a bit more of the emotion and substance to her character, which I really want to do!

Jasper winked: Right, so the Conscience of Marinus is a sort of telepathic thingy (great description, I know) that gets inside the minds of the inhabitants of Marinus and eliminates evil from their minds. Arbitan wants to get it working again to make the Voords good, and in order to make it work he has to collect these four keys that will make the Conscience start working again. (Hence the title) The Voords want to get it working so they can influence Marinus into becoming all corrupt and chaotic. What you had is pretty much correct, so just say if there's anything else you don't understand about it, I'd be glad to help!

KittyKatZorse: Awww I know I couldn't resist. There's quite a lot of hand holding in this chapter as well. :D I've been trying to lay off the really soppy stuff throughout this fic-which has been hard since this is my first fic that isn't completely laced with angst-because I know not everyone is a super-shipper like me, and some people might want to read it for the plot-line, which is what I'm initially going for in this fic, but *sigh...* sometimes I just can't help it...

Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing! You're all amazing!

* * *

"Faster Spaceman!"

The Doctor huffed to himself as Donna dug her heel into his hip. "I'm going as fast as I can!"

They were inside the tunnel leading to the beach that Arbitan had told them about. The walls, which were lined with soft lights, were made of stone, but the ground consisted of the same fine glass that made up the beach. The Doctor had quickly noticed that Donna had somehow lost one of the boots he'd oh-so-kindly lent her, and, still worried about the glass cutting her feet, had commanded Jack to give her a piggy-back ride until they were back in the Tardis, feeling very Time Lordy and extremely confident about his control over his companions.

Jack had retaliated the Doctor's order, insisting that as much as he'd like to, he couldn't give Donna a piggy-back ride, because he had to carry Rose out of the tunnel. He'd then proceeded to scoop the surprised young woman up in his arms and run off with her, barely slowing to shout to the Doctor that they'd be waiting at the exit over a water-wing clad shoulder.

So, the Doctor had thought. Considering how many chips he'd seen Rose inhale that morning for breakfast, she must weigh quite a lot. And if Jack could carry Rose with so much ease, then giving Donna a quick lift would be simple

He'd been wrong.

"Stop wobbling!" Donna shrieked, clutching at his hair for support and making it stand up on end.

"I'm not wobbling!" He snapped back, having given up countering her demands with clever remarks about ten minutes ago.

* * *

"Hold on a sec, Rose." Jack said when they reached the exit, slipping his friend out of his arms and on to the ground, where she landed with a light thump. "Donna and the Doctor are pretty far behind." He fell to the ground next to her, smiling cheekily as their companions' bickering echoed around the tunnel. That was one trial he'd managed to avoid quite well.

"Now you're going too fast!" Donna yelled.

Rose gave a giggle and turned to Jack, smile softly fading. "I feel awful about ditching Arbitan like that."

He crossed his legs and rested his chin in his hands. "But do you agree with what he was doing?"

"I..." She closed her mouth, and then reopened it. "I get what the Doctor meant. It's wrong to invade people's minds like that, and y'know...taking away all their free will and all, but I just wish there was something we could have done to help him."

"Why are you muttering to yourself? Stop it!"

"Ow-Donna!" The Doctor and Donna's voices were coming closer.

"We offered him a lift." Jack replied with a shrug. "Not really much else we could do."

"But still...I just felt bad for him, even if the Doctor thought what he was doing was wrong."

"Right, I'm bloody sick of this! Let me off!" Through the dim light, Donna came jogging towards them, dragging an exhausted Doctor towards them. His suit was crumpled from being kicked repeatedly in the side with half a pair of boots, and his hair was standing on end in thick tufts where Donna had grabbed hold of it.

Jack and Rose instantly ran to Donna, making sure her bare foot hadn't been scratched when jumped off of the Doctor and run towards them, leaving the Doctor standing by himself, alone and out of breath. Having decided that her foot had received minimal damage, Donna glared at the Doctor. "Honestly, you call yourself a Time Lord? That was like being given a piggy-back from a pipe cleaner!" She turned to Rose. "He ever made you do that?"

Rose crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "He's never offered."

The Doctor's mouth dropped open. "Don't-don't you start ganging up on me as well! Honestly!" He pointed an accusing finger at his three companions. "All of you, you're out to get me." His finger stopped on Jack. "So what's your problem with me, then?"

"Nothing." Jack replied with a charming smile. "I think you're super."

"Thank you." The Doctor gave a relieved sigh...until he realized Jack was moving closer...and closer...and closer...and-

"Anyway!" He leaped back away from the time agent. "When we open this door we'll need to run for it. There could be Voord out there, so we'll need to be quick. Jack, carry Donna will you? It'll be quicker that way. You're not-" he interrupted as Donna opened her mouth. "-running barefoot on the glass any more. Just out of the tunnel and into the Tardis, agreed?"

After receiving eager nods from all those involved, and making sure Jack was carrying Donna securely, he turned to the door, grasped the handle and reached behind him for Rose's hand. "Right, one two, three, four, five, six, GO!"

There was the sound of metal sliding against metal as the door opened, a yell of "Who starts running on _six_?", and they were off. The four friends ran across the shimmering beach, running faster and faster as the blue box in the distance became larger, until-

BANG!

Donna, Rose and Jack stared at the spot of nothing that had just managed to collide with the Doctor's forehead. He got up from where he'd fallen, and reached out to touch the Tardis' walls, but his hand skimmed the surface of an invisible barrier about half a metre away from the blue exterior.

"What happened?" Rose panted.

Jack dropped Donna on to a nearby boulder and walked around the Tardis, looking for a way in. "It goes around the whole ship, Doc."

"It's a force field." The Doctor sighed. "Someone's put a force field up around the Tardis."

"But why would anyone-Oh!" Rose exclaimed as she realized what had happened.

Suddenly a loud voice boomed around them. "I am sorry you have forced me into keeping you from your ship. But your refusal to help me left me no alternative!"

"Arbitan!" The Doctor shouted back. "What have you done?"

"I have placed a barrier around your ship, and only I can lift it. If you help me find the keys of Marinus I will let you have free access to your machine... when you have delivered all the keys to me. If not, you will stay on the island without food or water. The choice is yours.

"Choice?" Donna yelled, obviously insisting on being just as loud as Arbitan's projected voice. "Yeah, like you've given us much of a-" She suddenly stopped as she spotted something in the distance. Her eyes widened in fear as she extended a finger and pointed behind her companions. "D-Doctor..."

The Doctor, Rose and Jack turned around and gasped. In the distance-but close enough to be of considerable threat-they could see several tall, black figures against the whites and grays of the beach.

It was the Voords. And they were running towards them.

"Run!" The Doctor shouted, and his friends wasted no time doing what he said. Donna found herself whisked up in Jack's strong arms, and Rose linked hands with the Doctor as they bounded back towards the passageway.

When they finally reached it, Rose turned around, and her heart plummeted as she saw that the Voord were almost upon them; she could easily make out the long pole that protruded from their foreheads, their webbed hands, and their dark, lifeless eyes. "Quick open it!"

The Doctor jiggled the door desperately. "It's locked from the inside!" He dropped her hand and began to fish around in his pockets for the sonic screwdriver.

"Hurry!" Donna screamed.

"I am!" he yelled back, focusing the blue tube on the door's lock, and gave a triumphant yell when it swung open. The time travelers ran inside, and Rose slammed the door behind them.

There was a long silence, and then...there was a soft scratching at the door. Rose moved away from it, heart racing as she stared at the doorknob. "W-Will they get in?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Nope. No sonic technology. That pyramid only became visible when I used my screwdriver, and if they were using sonic technology ever since they landed here, we would have seen it when we first arrived. You alright?"

Rose laughed. "Oh, you know. Same old." She threw her arms around him happily. Their three hearts beat heavily against each other, and she was just about to mention that funnily enough, he smelt exactly like pears, when he suddenly pulled back.

"Ah." he said, pulling at his ear and staring at Donna, who was glaring back at him while tapping her foot in annoyance.

"What?" Rose asked, but then realized what was going on. They'd have to walk all the way back. Except for Donna, who'd have to be carried, and she had a pretty good idea about who was going to be stuck with that job.

The Doctor turned to his grinning comrade. "Jack-"

"Nope."The American replied, crossing his arms as his grin widened. "No way."

Donna scowled at Jack, just as displeased about having to be carried again by the skinny Time Lord. "Well, thanks for nothing, Spaceboy."

"I'm not-"

Donna turned to the woman standing at the Doctor's side. "Rose, what shoe size are you?"

"Um, about a nine, I think. Why?"

Donna pulled off her boot and held it out to Rose. "Here, trade ya."

Rose stepped out of her trainers and swapped with Donna, who pulled the shoes on with ease, before bending down slightly and giving the girl a proud grin. Rose smiled, tongue poking through her teeth, a sure sign of her amusement, and climbed on to the redhead's back. Donna only wobbled for a second while straightening up, and then walked off in the direction they'd originally come from as she gave the girl a piggy-back, both women chatting happily in the dim light.

The Doctor and Jack just stared.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it! Whether or not you did, though, leave me a review and tell me what you thought; I love getting reviews just as much as I love writing! :)**


	13. The Sea of Death Part 13

**A/N: Sorry to keep you all waiting for this part, but things have been pretty hectic recently, and it wasn't until today that I managed to sit down and type this out. I _thought_ I'd get a snow day last week, because of the weather forecast, which I could of used to work on this but it didn't come to anything. This year's been rubbish; I live in _Canada_ and I've only gotten one snow day!!**

**On a happier note, though, I've decided on an ending for this fic! It's a long way off, I know, but it's really nice to know where I'm going with it. Despite the fact that most of it's been decided for me.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter, and be warned; I stuck a bit of fluff in it. ****(At least I think it's fluff. For me fluff seems to be anything that isn't angst.) **** And I think we all know what happens when I attempt fluff. :S But I hope you enjoy it anyway; please leave me a review and tell me what you think!**

**~M&M**

Jasper winked: Awww I don't care how evil he is; I love Arbitan to bits! Also, according to Google, eviler is a word! Although it only got one definition, but that was from Wikipedia so it _must_ be true! Anyway, unfortunately this wasn't the soon you were hoping for, but hopefully the awesomeness of this chapter will make up for making you wait. :)

Commander Ael: Nope, no One and Susan in this fic, sadly. It's just Ten and friends doing stuff instead of One. Don't be mistaken, I love One to bits, but he's not making an appearance in this story. Although...wait and see; there _might_ be an appearance by someone familiar. But I'm not saying. Yet. :) Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

SciFiGeek14: Oooh Donna is just.....argh she's Donna, she's amazing! Even when I write her she just sort of leaks out perfectly! And yup, wristbands next, and oh no it's got blood on it! I'm actually cutting this episode off at a different bit, though, since I think throwing in the corny blood-on-the-wristband-line will work a bit better at the beginning of The Velvet Web. Or not. We'll see.

Keep those reviews coming!

* * *

When the Doctor, Rose, Jack and Donna returned to the Conscience Room, Arbitan was waiting with a long roll of paper and a grim smile. He opened his mouth to greet the travelers, but was interrupted when the Doctor marched over to him.

"Let me make this clear to you, Arbitan." he hissed. "What you've been doing here on Marinus is wrong, and I'm going to put a stop to it. We'll get you your keys, but only so that Yartek won't get a hold of them. We'll bring them back, and I'll help get rid of the Voords, but after that I need you to end this."

"That's a fair claim, Doctor, but I promise you that I will use those keys when you return, whether you like it or not." Arbitan answered, straightening his back and staring the Doctor in the eye.

"Arbitan..." The Doctor growled, growing angrier at the monk's challenge. But before the Doctor could reply, Arbitan offered the roll of paper he was holding to the Time Lord and continued.

"This map shows the rough location of the keys. All I ask you to do is retrieve them."

The Doctor snatched the map from him and walked a few metres away, turning his back to the others, unrolling the paper and examining it. He tried to cool his fury for the sake of his companions, but his blood still boiled with righteous anger; every drop hating the idea of helping Arbitan find the keys.

He was in the middle of his third mental rant within thirty seconds when a small hand touched his. He looked down at where the two hands met where he gripped the paper and let his eyes drift up until he found himself staring in the face of Rose Tyler.

"Still with us?" She inquired softly, and the Doctor swiveled his neck round to look at the other people in the room, all three of whom were staring at him with worried looks. A quick glance back down to his hands confirmed that his grip on the map had tightened considerably in the half a minute he'd been examining it, and his knuckles had turned white with anger.

He loosened his grip and turned to Rose, who looked just as worried as Jack and Donna, if not more. He took her by the elbow and softly guided her away from earshot of the others, wanting to have a moment to talk to her alone. He'd been so wrapped up in trying to dissuade Arbitan that he hadn't had a chance to consult his companions on what they thought, but the pitiful glances Rose had been giving the old man hadn't gone unnoticed.

"What to you think?" he whispered, genuinely interested in her answer.

She bit on her pinky nail-a nervous habit of hers- but didn't break eye contact. "It's like...yeah, it's not right to control people like that...but it's just the idea of a world without anything evil in it..." She shrugged and looked at the floor. "I dunno."

"Yeah you do."

She looked back up, eyes glistening softly with tears. "I just wish we could help him." There was a pause, and the Doctor looked over to the monk, who was gazing up at the Consciousness of Marinus. "It's like..." She cut herself off, shaking her head and dabbing at her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater.

"It's like he can't think of anything but the keys." The Doctor finished her sentence.

She nodded sadly, but then looked at him. "But...he mentioned his daughter. What if we found her? Then we could get rid of the keys and at least he'd have her."

The Doctor smiled proudly. "That's the spirit!" he said cheekily, nudging her shoulder with his, before drawing her into a comforting hug.

"Sorry, didn't mean to get all worked up." She mumbled into his jacket. "Thanks."

"Just returning the favour." He let her go and turned back around to face the other people they'd nearly forgotten were in the room. He rolled the map back up, having memorized it about 25 seconds before Rose had approached him, and returned it to its owner. "So, Arbitan, how's this going to work?"

"As soon as you've started your voyage I will release the force field. Your ship will be available to you when you return. And perhaps, if...when you return, you will bring news of my daughter?"

The Doctor winked at Rose, before turning back to Arbitan. "I meant transport."

"Yeah." Donna cut in. "No way am I traveling in one of those submarines this lot told me about."

Arbitan chuckled. "To think of asking you to travel in such an absurd way! No, I am going to give you a device which will enable you to move from place to place."

"Been there, done that."the redhead replied.

"Exactly." Arbitan drew four wristbands covered from his pocket, each mounted with a small dial. He handed one to Jack, who reluctantly ripped off his vortex manipulator to make room for the device, and then continued to hand one wristband to each person. "The principle is much the same as that of your ship; this device will enable you to cross space. They are all programmed to the same destination. With each twist of the dial you'll be taken to the location of the next key, so remember that you have only to twist the dial once for each teleportation."

Jack rolled his eyes at Donna, who was struggling to figure out how to put on the wristband. "C'mere, I'll help you with that."

"Oi!" She jerked her arm away from him. "I can manage myself, thank you very much." A few seconds, and a few muttered swear words later, and she was still struggling.

Jack laughed. "What were you saying?"

"I _said_ I can manage!"

"Yeah? This from the woman who once blew up a microwave trying to use it to make toast?"

Donna's wristband finally snapped into place, and she took a step towards Jack, an annoyed glint in her eyes. "Right, that's it, I'm-" But before she could reach him, Jack stepped out of slapping distance, turned the dial on his wrist, and disappeared with a barely audible pop.

"Jack!" the Doctor shouted. He grabbed Rose by the hand and pulled her over to where Jack had just been standing.

"You must not waste time." Arbitan said from behind him. "You must follow him quickly. Now-_now!_ Twist the dials!"

The three friends nodded and reached for their wrists. Rose looked at the old man and gave him a kind smile. "Goodbye Arbitan."

He nodded in return. "For the sake of all my people, I hope you succeed."

The Doctor gave Rose's hand a squeeze and, not letting go, reached with his free hand to turn the dial on his wrist. Rose and Donna did the same, and the three disappeared from sight.

There was a moment of stillness, and Arbitan stared at the spot where they'd stood only moments ago before turning away, trying not to be too hopeful. He walked across the room, going over the controls of the beautiful, domed machine that hung suspended in front of him.

There was only silence.

But behind him, in the darkness of the pyramid, something stirred.

* * *

**And thus concludes The Sea of Death!**

**I'm serious, we're done the episode! Quick, everyone hum the Doctor Who theme to yourself! It can be the Hartnell theme or the Tennant theme, I don't care, just do it!**

**Weeeeeooooooooo...**

**Thanks for reading, and tune in next time for...The Velvet Web!**


	14. The Velvet Web Part 1

**A/N: Whey-hey that was fast! I _was_ planning on having a life tonight, but you know, writing this is fine as well. I got some lovely reviews for last chapter, so thanks to everyone who took the time to comment. And to everyone else reading this. Yes, I know you're there, and I don't care if you're not reviewing, you're still the bee's knees!! Well gear and fab and all that. Anyway. So I'm still battling my way through the classic episodes. Well, less battling since I just found out it's better _not_ to watch them in marathons. I wish someone had told me that earlier. I still enjoy them, but when you do that they sort of turn to mush in your head. Anyway, I'm currently on The Key to Time season, and I'm starting to see a few similarities between it and another certain 60s episode. :D**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter!!**

**~M&M**

Laura Harkness: Hmm I've always been a huge Rose fan, mainly because she was the companion when I was growing up, and it's hard to fall out of love with characters like that. I don't think I could ever grow tired with her, but I see where you're coming from, because I often get tired with the way some people write her, it's very easy to go all over the place with her character because she varies so much in the episodes, but I think that's part of what makes me love writing her. Anyway..._YES_!!! Another Voord fanatic! I love them, and like you said, what happened on Marinus was a great concept; when I first started watching the old series it was the first story I felt myself really enjoying.

I'll be honest: most of the stuff I read on this site seems to be romance and humor (and not even much of that since I started writing my own stuff) but I'm seriously loving your work; it's a nice break to read a complete adventure fic. I haven't gotten to Vengeance yet; I've been reading all the fics leading up to it, and I have to hand it to you, you've got a real knack for writing. I love where you're going with the character's relationships; everything just seems to real and intense. Also, your plots are great, as well as all the technobabble you've stuck in there. I can't write science into my fics on a good day, so when you go into a science-rant in your fics I can't help but feel a little bit impressed. Also, I love how much Jack is in your stories; he and the Doctor work so well together, and there's a little part of me that's starting to think that Jack could possibly fit all the criteria for a companion perfectly. Anyway, oops this has turned into a bit of a rant, sorry, but thanks for a the review, and I can't wait until I get to Vengeance!

NAB: I haven't really thought of choosing this particular episode as difficult...more like a lot more room to be creative and expand on Nation's original script, which I'm pretty sure is a good thing :) Character-wise one thing I really didn't want to do in this fic is assign each character to a specific role. I think Jack and the Doctor are probably sticking with the same old stuff, since I can 't see them doing anything that Barbara and Susan get up to, but I'm really trying to vary Rose and Donna; like I said it's part of my way of spreading things out creatively and not making the characters in this fic too stationary, since that could stop it from being unique to the original episode. Until recently I was pretty much expecting to give Donna the big adventure in this part, but I'm starting to scum to the temptation of giving her the two episodes after that, so like I said, anything could happen with the characters' roles, we'll just have to wait and see. ;) Thanks for the review!

SciFiGeek14: Aww he's a right laugh, that Jack! But it's still nothing compared to whatever we're going to inflict on poor Donna/Rose in a bit. I'm still not saying who's going to be taking over for Barbara in this episode...mainly because I haven't yet decided, but I am starting to favour the idea of one over the other. :P

KittyKatZorse: Ahhh! Where have you been??? Honestly, you _need_ to update your series 4 fic soon, I'm actually starting to go into withdrawal without my regular dose of it! Anyway, I'll stop making you feel bad now. Thanks for the review! Glad you're still alive.

Jasper winked: Oooh Ten/Rose is just...argh they're perfect. And while I don't really ship them, Donna and Jack do seem to be stuck with each other quite a lot in this, don't they? But this fic's purely adventure and laughs; I'm trying my best to try and make it appeal to everyone, and focus on the plot more than making people hook up, since I think the main attraction with this is the story itself. That said, I can't help it, the Ten/Rose moments just seem to leak out...and I refuse to believe that that's a bad thing.

Ahhhh the Velvet Web....no giant spiders, unfortunately, but I'm not saying what's in it. (Although it's all there on wikipedia) Although I will say this; The Velvet Web is my favourite episode of The Keys of Marinus! Horray!! :D

Thanks for the reviews everyone!

* * *

It wasn't until they materialized that Rose realized she'd been holding her breath. Being thrown through the vortex in an irresponsible time ship with a childish alien at the helm was everyday life for her, but she rarely crossed time and space without some sort of capsule, and hadn't been looking forward to using her wristband. But as teleports went, Arbitan's method of travel had been much smoother than she'd expected; it had been less like being tossed from one place to another, and more like simply fading in and out of existence. Although, she thought, her comfort could easily be attributed to the alien standing next to her, who had been holding her hand the entire time, and was currently surveying their surroundings with interest.

In contrast to the vast Consciousness Room, they were in a small, closet-like chamber. From the grim walls, and floors holding piles of various objects she couldn't quite recognize-one resembling what looked like a bag of poker chips-she guessed that it was probably used for storage. Beside the pair stood two large doors, which took up the entire right wall, and were covered in elaborate etchings and patterns.

"Where are we?"

"Not quite sure." The Doctor replied. "It's bit nippy though, you'd think they could turn up the heating."

Rose nodded in agreement, rubbing her arms in order to heat up, and suddenly noticed what they were missing. "Where's Donna?"

The Doctor sniffed. "Transpacial delay." When her only response to his answer was a blank stare, he rolled his eyes and continued. "Arbitan's devices aren't hooked up together; they've been programmed individually, so it's possible there might be a short delay before each of us appears. We were holding hands, so there was barely any delay for us, but Donna's probably coming soon."

As if on cue, the redhead faded into existence beside Rose, eyes shut tightly and shoulders stiff, as if she expected to be hit any second by a lorry. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around, the first thing she saw being the Doctor and Rose's enormous grins.

"'Ello love," said the Doctor.

Donna scowled at the Doctor's choice of wording. "What are you two smiling about?"

As the Doctor began to try explaining why Donna had appeared on a delay, Rose let go of his hand and started to look around the room. One thing the Doctor hadn't brought up, but Rose was sure they'd have to address sooner or later, was what had happened to Jack. If there'd been a delay with the wristbands, then there was no telling how long he'd been here, or where he'd gone in their absence. Wherever he'd gone, though, Rose hoped he'd left voluntarily.

A few feet away, she spotted something lying on the floor, and with a jolt of terror, she realized what it was.

"Doctor."

"Look Donna, it's not that difficult, there's-"

"Doctor!" The Doctor turned towards his friend, recognizing the sound of pure fear in her voice.

Beside him, Donna stepped forward, staring at the deflated object Rose held in her hands. "Is that..."

"It's one of Jack's waterwings." Rose whispered shakily. "And it's got blood on it."

The Doctor and Donna rushed to the girl's side, and the Doctor gently pried the rubbery piece of material from Rose's trembling fingers and examined it. "It's his blood, yeah." he said after a few seconds, and Donna clamped a hand over her mouth.

"But it's not much. And you know Jack, he's been through worse." He took his companions' hands and gave them an assuring squeeze. "C'mon, let's see where we are."

He led them to the large doors, which opened easily enough. The moment they swung open however, all three companions gave a gasp of terror as the air was pierced by a deafening shriek, so high and intense that it seemed to dig straight into their minds, invading any and all thought. On top of that, a bright light seared their eyes, blinding the three of them as it flashed over and over again. Donna felt the Doctor's hand drop out of hers, and pressed her palms to her ears as she closed her eyes in pain. Unable to hold it in anymore, she let out a agonized scream and dropped to her knees. As she shook on the floor, the noise finally stopped, and when she opened her eyes the light was gone as well.

"W-what...Donna!" Rose's face swam into view. "You okay?"

"I th-think so." Donna managed to gasp out.

The Doctor knelt down beside her, looking just as worried as Rose, who kept glancing around fearfully in case the light and noise should return. Despite herself, Donna whimpered, and the alien quickly pulled her into a firm hug, rubbing her back as she shook. She let herself be held for a few seconds, gasping fiercely into his shoulder in fatigue before drawing away and giving a quick nod to show that she was fine. Strangely enough, she could already feel her strength coming back, and she stood up with her friends as they suddenly noticed the beautiful room they were in.

It was a long, brightly lit hallway, filled with exquisite paintings and marble statues, which bore a strong resemblance to Greek artwork. With it's stunning architecture and gorgeous furnishings, the room seemed to fit the very essence of class and beauty, and Donna could barely believe that they were in the same building as the messy room they'd left behind them.

Rose and Donna took in their surroundings with wide eyes as they followed the Doctor through the hallway, which eventually led them to a large room. It was decorated in the same extravagant style as before, but that wasn't what made all three of them stop dead in their tracks.

In front of them, laid out on a long, fancy couch that Donna reckoned would have made the queen go green with envy, lay Captain Jack Harkness. He was smiling. Surrounding him were several women, some of whom were holding trays filled with various fruits and wines.

Despite the deflated bit of material in the other room, Jack was wearing both waterwings. Under the current circumstances though, reappearing waterwings were the last thing on anyone's mind, mainly due to the fact that Jack was also wearing a toga.

Most things in the universe could be calculated, analyzed, and explained, until they'd been picked apart to every detail. Very few things in existence, though, were so unexplainable and unexpected that one could only stop and stare.

But this, all three friends decided, was one of those things.

* * *

**Oooh I love this episode so much! The Velvet Web is my favourite bit!**

**Thanks for reading, please review if you're enjoying it!**


	15. The Velvet Web Part 2

**A/N: It's pretty late, so I'm not going to spend too long rambling up here (and quite right too, I think half of my chapters might be my author notes) but I hope you all enjoy this chapter; like I've said before, I **_**love**_** The Velvet Web, and writing this chapter was really fun. So please enjoy, and **_**please**_** review. Honestly, all your amazing reviews make staying up all night typing these scenes out worth it.**

**~M&M**

SciFiGeek14: Haha I couldn't help myself. The line "It's Jack's waterwing...and it's got _blood_ on it!" was too much to pass up! Oh, Tomb of the Cybermen...to tell the truth, the Second Doctor's stories are all a bit of a blur, mainly because his era went by so fast. Stupid BBC.... But when you said that I instantly thought of long, drawn out shots of Cybermen breaking out of their cling film graves. I think that's what happened. I _need_ to go back and watch some episodes, and that one in particular is pretty high on my list. Anyhoo, steal away! I'd love it if more people did these stories, and Dalek Invasion of Earth is a classic if there ever was one. The best thing about doing this sort of fic? I've got fans of both the old and new series reading it, which I just think is so awesome, because this is sort of fic seems to appeal to everyone! Unfortunately I don't own any Doctor Who novels, but I know there's some lurking around in my town's library (Doctor Who novels? In Canada? AMAZING!!) because I remember looking at them as a kid and giggling over the Doctor being an old guy, so I'm planning an excursion to see if they have Marinus as soon as I can! Although, I very nearly almost bought The Keys of Marinus on DVD, at an HMV they had it and The Three Doctors; aka my two very favourite classic episodes ever, but it was either buy them or season four, and in the end the new who fan living inside of me won the battle. But I hope I can get a copy of the novelization; I'm especially interested to see how it describes the Voord, since that was one description I really struggled with.

Jasper winked: Wristband=random plot device so the writers didn't have to stick the characters on a boat/plane/camel everytime it was time to go somewhere new in this story. Just teleport them straight to the keys; easy peasy! Sort of.

Laura Harkness: Right I'm going to try and make this as clear and rant-free as possible; like I said above, it's late and I can feel my mind shutting down as I write this. Anyway, like I mentioned, I've always loved Rose, mainly because she was _my_ companion, but the slightly schizophrenic side of me completely understands why some people don't like her, and I'm fine with it. There's nothing inflexible about your take; you grew up watching a Doctor that didn't run around snogging everything with legs, so it's not how you perceive the show. (Wow I'm getting really psychological. Sorry about that.) However, I was always comfortable with how RTD handled things with Rose because (and I know some people will happily throw fruit at me for what I'm about to say) he knew the limit, and commonly addressed the fact that they'll never have the happy end so many of us shippers dream about. And that's why I've often felt more uncomfortable with Steven Moffat's scripts; I don't hate the whole River Song idea because I'm a crazy Rose/Doctor shipper, yeah that's a little part of it, but it's mainly because I feel that with Silence in the Library and Girl in the Fireplace Moffat really crossed those lines; I don't even read fics where Rose and the Doctor get married, because both the new and old series fans inside of me think it doesn't fit my erm...paradigm (I think that's the word. Maybe. Hopefully you get what I mean.) of what I think the Doctor is. Sorry that did turn into a bit of a rant, but hey, I'm pretty passionate about this show. :) Anyway, now I'm getting even more excited about your series! I think I'm on the fourth erm, fic/chapter thing, and yeah, I can tell that dialogue is your weakest point, mainly from the odd moment that stands out, but I'm looking forward to seeing it develop along with your plot. If you don't mind a tiny bit of advice on your dialogue, and as you said, you've developed a bit as a writer so you might not be doing this anymore, but I'd recommend grouping large bodies of text together. Often when a character goes into a rant in your stories you tend to isolate each couple of sentences into their own paragraphs, which can cause said rant to seem a bit staggered and confusing for the reader. But that said, I'm still really enjoying it, and can't wait to see what happens next!

Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I'd give you all candy, but I'm just too lazy.

* * *

For a while it was silent as the the Doctor, Rose and Donna stared at their friend, trying to comprehend the absurdity of the situation. Jack just continued to lie there, smile widening as he waited patiently for a response.

Finally, Donna spoke. "You're...wearing a...wotsit." She'd always been awful at history, and while she was sure she recognized what Jack was wearing from her Gramps' night-long marathons of the history channel, she couldn't quite place its name.

"A wotsit?" Jack's smile disappeared. "Where?"

"There!" She pointed at him. "It's a wotsit, see?"

"I'm not wearing a wotsit!"

"You are!" Donna turned to the Doctor. "He's wearing a _wotsit_!"

"So he is," mused the Doctor. He turned back to Jack. "She means you're wearing a..." he gestured to Jack's toga, trying to find the words to describe it. "a...wotsit."

Suddenly, the fourth member of their party spoke, or rather, yelled.

"_Jack_!" Rose sprinted across the room, jumped clumsily over a marble table, and tackled the surprised American in a huge hug. Jack laughed and pulled her tighter.

"Rosie!"

Rose grinned and laughed. "I thought you were hurt." She pulled away and looked at him. "We found your waterwing; it had blood on it."

"Nah, I'm fine. When I materialized I tripped on this bag full of discs someone left lying about, and I banged myself on the wall." He shrugged. "Just a bit. Burst my waterwing though. But this lot-" Here he gestured to the rest of the people in the room. "-gave me a new one. Great, huh?"

"Gear."

He looked at the sarcastic red-head. "So Donna, aren't you gonna give me a hug as well?"

She crossed her arms and scrunched up her shoulders. "Not while you're wearing a wotsit."

Jack stared down at his Grecian clothing, as if contemplating what he wanted more; the toga, or a hug from Donna. Finally he shrugged and passively reached to one of the trays being held nearby for a piece of fruit.

The Doctor leaped forward. "Oooooh!" he exclaimed, making Donna jump. "Have they got...you know, those um...wotsits?"

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Bananas?"

He clicked his fingers. "That's the one!"

Jack clicked his fingers, purposefully making his click a little bit louder than the Doctor's, and pointed towards his friends. A tall, slender woman, dressed in a style similar to Jack's swayed forward and offered a ripe banana to the time lord, who grabbed it with a wide smile, sat down on a nearby couch and began to peel it.

After a moment of hesitation, Rose also approached the trays of fruit. She took a handful of strawberries and smiled at the woman holding the tray; a tall, thin lady with dark hair and deep brown eyes. "Thanks!" she said cheerfully, but the woman didn't answer. She simply walked past Rose and out of the room with a lifeless stare, causing the other similarly-clad women to followed suit.

Rose stared at them as they retreated, lips parting in a confused, silent 'what', but her concentration was broken by the sound of Donna tackling Jack, togas and wotsits forgotten. "Quit hogging the grapes!"

Rose laughed and walked across the room to sit herself beside the Doctor, who was still in the process of savoring the banana he'd been handed. "How's your wotsit?"

"Better than Jack's," he answered between mouthfuls.

Rose laughed, and watched their friends pelt each other with grapes for a few seconds before frowning. "It's warm."

"Hmm?"

"Back there, in that room, it was freezing, and now it's the temperature's fine. Why's that?"

"Hadn't thought of that." He swallowed a piece of banana, contemplating what she'd said. "Whoever designed this place probably wanted this room to be a tad more luxurious than the last, and must have added in a bit of heating for a bonus."

"And what about what happened when we left it? All that light and noise? What was going on there?" She shivered, having almost forgotten about that mysterious assault which already seemed so long ago...

The Doctor shrugged. "Who knows? Probably nothing." He suddenly perked up. "What's that over there?"

Close by, Donna stopped fighting with Jack and looked at what he was pointing at. "_Wozzat_?" she managed to gasp out through a mouthful of grapes.

"No, Donna. Not wozzat. It's wotsit."

She swallowed. "You know what I mean, Spaceman." She looked back at what he'd seen. "Oh!"

It was a long, stone table, covered in various fabrics of all colours. Each piece of material was more gorgeous than the last and seemed to shimmer with unearthly beauty. The two women approached the table and, as she reached out to stroke the colourful fabric, Rose could feel all her worry over the previous assault on her senses melt away. One thing filled her mind; she wanted this. Badly.

Donna picked up a long roll of green silk and clutched it to her chest lovingly. "Oh, this is gorgeous! Do you think someone would make me a dress out of this?" What she was saying easily matched what was going on in Rose's mind. The young girl smiled and picked out a soft pink material, knowing perfectly that she'd look stunning in it.

"That's what they're here for," replied Jack. "They asked me which material I wanted my wotsit made out of."

Rose skipped over to his couch and threw herself down, still holding her chosen fabric adoringly. "Blimey, you had a pretty rough time without us, didn't you?"

Jack was about to reply when room reverberated with the sound of a gong being hit, and a man walked in. Like everyone else they'd seen, he was dressed in the same Grecian robes, although his were slightly more elegant; his clothing reached down to his feet and a long, red cape swished heroically behind him as he walked towards them. He had black hair and dark eyes that matched those of the woman Rose had talked to.

The Doctor sniffed. "What's he want, then?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "It's fine, Doc. I've seen him before, and he's got more wotsit than you've got bananas."

The Doctor looked down at his hands; all that was left was a banana peel. He shrugged and stood up, smiling, and offered the man his hand. "Hullo! I'm the Doctor, this is Rose, Donna and, well, you've already met Jack."

The man accepted the Doctor's handshake, despite the fact that there was a still a messy banana peel in the alien's hand, which was squished in between the two men's hands with a large squelch. The Doctor stared down at his hand in confusion, oblivious to Rose's giggles, but their visitor didn't seem to notice.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you," he said. "But I wondered if there was anything you wanted."

"Yeah," Donna replied instantly. "Where are we? I mean, this is great and all, but a bit of info would be nice."

"You are in the city of Morphoton. Our people are perhaps the most contented in the universe, nothing they desire is denied them."

"So you just...give people whatever they want?" Rose asked. When the man nodded, she smiled. "Then could I please have a dress made from-"

"Rose-" the Doctor interrupted, intent on figuring out more about where they were, but man hushed him, smiling as he urged Rose on.

"Yes?"

Now it was Donna's turn to butt in. "We want dresses." Jack snorted at the straight-forwardness of her statement. "I-I mean, we'd _love_ it if you made us some dresses from this fabric." Rose nodded eagerly.

The Doctor turned towards the two girls, already opening his mouth to object to their sudden demands, but the man placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly. "They take no advantage, truly. Our one wish is to fulfill your every need. They shall have their dresses."

Rose and Donna hugged in delight, and the stranger turned towards the Doctor. "And you? Have you no wish, no great desire?"

The Doctor looked around sheepishly. "Wellllll...I wouldn't want to impose, but a few more bananas would be nice." The man nodded in acceptance. "Actually, how about 20?" The man nodded again. "20 bananas! Brilliant! Although, I don't want to be a bother, but does 300 sound alright?" Another nod. "Lovely! Actually, while we're on the subject, how about a whole room-full?"

The man nodded for a fourth time. "It will be arranged."

Jack stopped sniggering at the Doctor's 'wish', which was much more extravagant than Donna and Rose's, and stared at him. "You mean he can have it?"

"Perhaps in the morning when you see this room you will find our way of life easier to understand, and easier to believe. Now, as it is late, I suggest you sleep. In the morning when you wake you will learn everything about Morphoton."

Everyone thanked him, and he bowed out of the room. Rose turned towards the Doctor with a grin. "Cor, this is great!"

He grinned back. "Pretty impressive, if I do say so myself. But I'll wait to see this room he's promised me. I think this culture's going to prove to be very fascinating to study, and-blimey, that was fast, wasn't it?"

The four companions looked across the room, where four large, comfy looking beds had appeared. Rose gave a happy gasp. "Dibs on the pink one!" She ran to the bed she'd claimed and jumped in, bouncing as she landed. On any other occasion she would have landed on her feet and jumped on the bed for a good twenty minutes, but ever since their visitor has mentioned sleep, she'd felt extremely tired, and just wanted to curl up and dream...

She closed her eyes and smiled to herself when she felt someone gently pull the covers over her and whisper goodnight, but then opened her eyes as she suddenly thought of something. "Doctor?"

He turned back to smile at her sleepily, and it occurred to her that in all the time she'd traveled with him, she'd never seen him sleep, or even look tired. She looked around the room as Donna and Jack climbed into bed, frowned slightly in confusion. "Weren't...weren't we meant to be looking for something?"

The Doctor's brow creased for a second, and then he shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"Right." She nodded, and then yawned and lay back down. "Night..." She slept.

* * *

The night went by slowly, and the four friends dreamed of beautiful women, rooms filled with bananas, and shimmering dresses under the protection and watch of Morphoton. But far away, over a peaceful city and across a sea of acid, the Tardis could feel that something was wrong. She reached out, calling for her friends, but no one replied. With nothing else left to do, she reached out to her Bad Wolf, touching her mind and stirring her from her sleep.

* * *

Rose groaned and opened her eyes. Was it morning already? She sat up slowly, and a feeling of pure fear hit her as she realized that she wasn't where she'd been before. It was dark, and it was terrifying, and it was cold...it was _so_ cold. Shivering, she gave a moan of complete helplessness, as her panic engulfed her. Why was she scared? _Was there anything to be scared of_? Suddenly her breath hitched and her heart momentarily stopped as she spotted something through the darkness.

Three figures, fast asleep on low, wooden cots, all of them dreaming peacefully, unaware of what was happening around them. On each of their foreheads lay a round, pale disc, and when Rose looked down, she could see hers lying in her lap, having slipped off when she sat up. She clasped a hand over her mouth, and was about to wake her friends when the air filled with a familiar sound; a high scream which attacked her ears furiously as lights flashed before her eyes.

As her ears filled with screams, and as the image of Jack, Donna and the Doctor's sleeping forms were burned into her mind, Rose trembled, gave a final, strangled sob, and fell into the darkness.

* * *

**Oooh creepy ending. A lot of wotsiting in this chapter, I know. But I couldn't help it; it's one of my favourite words. Plus it's late, and I don't really know what I'm saying. Go away.**

**No wait, review-then you can go away.**


	16. The Velvet Web Part 3

**A/N: Goooood morning! At least, it's morning here, but I'm not going to complain. And here, it's also March Break! Do you have March Break in England? If you don't you should definitely start a revolution or something because it's the bane of my life. Anyway, since it's March Break, (and yes, it does deserve capital letters) I'm going to try to write as much as possible; working a lot on this and another fic that I'm trying to pull together, but make _really_ good before I start forcing it down peoples' throats. But anyway, it was only when I got the reviews and read over it that I realized just how creepy the last chapter was, and I think this one follows the same sort of theme. This is the chapter where I really start to put Rose through the grinder. :( But I hope you enjoy it nevertheless! And you'd better. My computer crashed last night in the middle of writing it and, keeping in mind that it was nearly midnight, and I wasn't all there, I had to retype the entire ending. So basically, enjoy this or else. I only threaten you out of love.**

**~M&M**

KittyKatZorse: Hee hee wotsiting makes the world a better place! Hmmm Sontaren-wise, I can definitely see why you're considering skipping it, it's not the most exciting episode to write for. But while writing this I've realized that an episode's only as interesting as you make it. If worse comes to worse, just add in a few extra explosions, or give the Doctor a musical solo, or make Jack run through the room in a speedo. (You can borrow his toga for a bit. I don't mind.) I promise it'll liven things up in Sontaren Land. On a more serious note though, I don't think too many people would be nasty about you skimming through it, since that's really how you started back in series three, wasn't it? And oh my gosh, I think if you saw the original episode of Marinus, you'd be pretty bewildered. It's nothing like this. I've even added my own little spins on to the plot, and barely anything the main characters say is from the script!

Laura Harkness: Thank you! The ending is a bit...sinister. I like that word, it describes it perfectly! I live in Canada, and actually we say snap too. I have absolutely no idea what they say in England, and even less of an idea about why I typed click in my half-asleep daze. It just sounded...posher. I think.

NAB: Thanks! I've actually been adding a few things like the Tardis reaching out to Rose into my version. Nothing too drastic, but I think they pull the plot together nicely.

SciFiGeek14: You're jealous about the Doctor's room of bananas, or that I live in Canada? Either way, their both things to be jealous of! :) I live in Southern Ontario, right next to the border. I'm not sure how much Canadian geography they teach in the States, but it's sort of central. (ish) If you look at a map of Canada, I'm on the little bit that sticks down into America. So odds are, if you're near the border I'm probably further South than you are. :) Oh my gosh...I recently saw an episode where the plot changed drastically halfway through, only it didn't work out like the Hartnell episodes usually did; I could actually feel myself cringing. You might have seen it; The Invasion of Time? It was awful! But Edge of Destruction is great! I love that episode for two reasons; The interaction between Barbara and the Doctor, which really helps with both characters' development. And of course, because of Susan's zombie-like homicidal rampage.

Jasper winked: It's Marinus. Or Morphoton, if you're referring to the city they're in. Or...is it a city? Sorry, trying to build the suspense up for a sec there. Didn't work, I know. Being told my fics are well written makes me happier than most other reviews; it's the main thing I take into consideration while writing, so thank you so much! :)

Thanks for the reviews everyone!

* * *

The next morning, Donna awoke to the smell of fresh pine and hot tea. Eyes still closed, she smiled happily to herself as she felt warm sunlight playfully flickering across her cheeks and pushed out her legs in a long-deserved stretch.

And then she remembered.

She sat up quickly as all the memories of the previous night came flooding back, and beamed when she saw that she was in the same gorgeous room as before. _Of course you are_, said a soft voice in the back of her head. _Where else would you expect to be?_

_No where_, was the answer, of course. This was all there was; all she wanted, and it was perfect. No, more than perfect, she decided as her eyes fell on the table sitting a few metres away from her bed. On it sat four mugs, all brimming with the hot, steaming tea she'd smelled earlier.

She turned back to look at the rest of the room and, upon seeing the three figures curled up in their beds, felt a strong surge of affection for her companions. Sure, she spent a lot of time shouting at them, but still...

No, wait-when had she ever shouted at them? It was strange that she'd think of something like that...why on Earth would she be angry with someone when she was somewhere like this? It was _perfect_ here, and she was in an especially good mood, despite the fact that she couldn't seem to remember ever being in a bad one.

Donna smiled to herself and looked towards her friends again, suddenly craving their company. "Hey!" she whispered. When the only reply was a loud snore from Jack's bed, she repeated herself, a little bit louder than this time. "_Hey_! Wake up!"

Still no answer. She gave an annoyed, yet still fairly content huff, climbed out of bed and stood in between where Jack and the Doctor slept, hands on her hips as she tried to decide who to wake up first. She didn't have the heart to wake Rose; the young girl was curled in on herself tightly, eyes closed and fists balled as if she were suffering from a bad dream. Donna decided that she just hadn't gotten enough sleep last night-how couldn't she, in a place like this?-and opted to disturb the males in their party who, by the looks of them, had had enough sleep to last them a long while.

Finally deciding that there was one specific person in the room who deserved a little more payback than most, Donna trotted towards where the Doctor slept. She was just about to leap on to his bed, but stopped in her tracks when the time lord suddenly rolled to the side, slipping out of the bed sheets and landing with a graceful thud on there floor next to his bed, arms crossed as he stared at her with an accusing, but fairly passive glare.

There was a pause, and Donna stared at him in shock. A few moments went by and then, unable to hold it in anymore, the Doctor snorted and gave a proud grin. In response, Donna gave a shriek of delighted laughter. Before she knew it, both she and the Doctor were on the floor, their laughs both loud and slightly hysterical as they reveled in each other's company and the pure joy of just being...here.

When she'd finally calmed down, Donna continued to lie on her back, and stared up at the ceiling where a wide skylight hung, which filtered down golden sunlight and caused the room to glow and dance. More out of pure instinct than anything else, Donna reached out and grabbed the Doctor's hand, who squeezed hers back tightly. There was a moment of companionable silence, and then the Doctor spoke.

"We should stay."

Donna nodded immediately. "This is it, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"Paradise. Utopia. Heaven. Whatever. But...this it it?"

"I think so, yeah."

Donna beamed as sunlight cascaded down her cheeks, causing her ruby red locks to shine in the morning light. She had hot tea, every luxurious item there was to offer, and her three best friends in the whole universe. This was it.

Beside them, Jack sat upright in his bed; brow wrinkled in confusion as he tried to figure out what was so funny.

* * *

A little while later, one of the women from the previous night approached the table where the three friends sat, and set down the hot mug of coffee that Jack had requested.

"Thanks!" the American called to her as she walked away. When there was no reply he merely shrugged, took a sip of the hot liquid and sighed in contentment. "Don't see how you can stand that stuff; it's disgusting."

Donna glared at him, and the Doctor spluttered into his cup. "It's lovely!" he insisted. "Much better than that...'stuff 'you're drinking. Did I ever tell you about the time I saved the world with a cup of tea?"

Jack reached up to rub his forehead, which had felt a little bit irritated since he'd woken up. "No, but I have a feeling you're about to," he mumbled into his mug.

"Was suffering from a faulty regeneration. Fainting all over the place. And she-" Here her pointed to the small lump of duvet that was Rose. "-started giving up on me!"

"Doctor..." Jack interrupted, having only just noticed what was happening.

"Jackie had to come and save me in the end. You haven't met her yet, Donna. Horrible woman. She-"

"Doc, shut up a second!" The Doctor turned around in his seat to see what Jack was pointing at, and felt his smile fall. Rose was still curled up under her bed covers, but they could see the duvet trembling and heard her whimper in her sleep. He barely turned back to look at Jack, who was already half-way out of his chair, before he bounded over to the human's side.

"Rose? _Rose_, wake up." He gave her arm a small shake,and she jerked to life. Donna jumped as she did so. The gasp Rose let out as she awoke reminded the redhead of the one Jack let out every time he came back to life; the hurried and hushed scream of someone desperately gripping on to what little they had as they clawed their way back to reality...

* * *

"Rose? _Rose_, wake up."

Rose gasped as she awoke with a jolt. Sitting up quickly and breathing heavily, she kept her eyes half-closed, terrified of letting herself look at her surroundings. Why she should be afraid, she had no idea. It was like...some deep part of her subconsciousness was screaming out, warning her that was something was wrong, that something in her mind was missing. Something was missing, and whatever it was had terrified her.

Through thin slits in her eyelids she saw someone reach out to grab her, and she whimpered and backed away until her shoulders hit the headboard behind her, curling in on herself as she did so. The headboard...her bed...the man in long robes, Jack's toga, the trays of food, her dress, the woman with dark, lifeless eyes; it all came pouring back into her mind like a flood crashing through a dam. But it was _wrong_. Something about it felt _so_ wrong. And with a shiver and a moan, Rose realized what else was wrong. It was cold.

The hand reached out towards her again, and this time she had no where to go; she'd gone as far back as she could. But the hand rested on her arm, thumb rubbing soothing circles in a continual pattern that calmed her for a brief moment.

"Rose?" At the sound of someone's voice she opened her eyes all the way, and stared into the familiar faces of the three people crowded around her. Her eyes rested on the one who sat closest to her, whose hand still rested on her arm.

"Doctor..." she whimpered, and he quickly drew her close, hugging her tightly as if to protect her from whatever was so terrifying. As if to protect her from the cold.

After a moment, he let go of her, but his eyes still spoke volumes of worry. "You okay?" Behind him Donna and Jack exchanged looks, and then came closer, sitting beside her and threading their fingers through hers with supportive smiles.

"Y-yeah," she replied, trying to ease the irrational fear that was finally beginning to subside. "I think I just had a bad..."

She trailed off, and stared at her surroundings. Instead of the large, art-filled hallway she'd expected to see, the four of them sat in a musty, cold dungeon, lined with stone walls and lit by candlelight. Behind her friends Rose could see ripped paintings and long, tattered drapes; merely shadows of what she'd seen last night. "But...what happened?"

Jack cocked his head to the side in confusion. "What happened to what?"

Rose looked around the the room, trying to piece together what was going on. "We...we were in Morphoton, yeah? Where'd it go?"

Her friends stared at her in bewilderment. "We're still in Morphoton," replied the Doctor.

"But why'd they move us?" More importantly, why had they moved them here, out of all places?

"They didn't. We're in the same room, Rose." The Doctor reached out again, but she jerked away from his touch. He frowned. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"What the hell are you on about?" Rose shouted, which only earned her more stares. "Look around you! Can't you see? We're not there anymore! We're in some sort of dungeon and you're all acting like-"

The Doctor turned around. "We need something to wake her up. Donna, fetch me that cup of tea, will you?"

"I don't need-" The next thing Rose knew, she was soaking wet, which unfortunately didn't help her on the cold front. She gave another shiver. "What was that for?"

"_Donna_!" The Doctor yelled. "I didn't mean throw it on her!"

"I thought you wanted her woken up!" the redhead bellowed back. Rose blinked, ignoring their shouts as she began to digest what had just happened. Whatever Donna had just thrown on her was cold, had no smell, and definitely wasn't tea. Her eyes drifted to Donna's hand, where she held the mug that had, until recently, been holding the 'tea'. It was disgusting, badly rusted and going moldy in some places.

It wasn't until she'd taken in the offending object that another, looking just like it, was held out right in front of her, filled with a dark, muddy looking liquid that made her feel nauseous. When she didn't take hold of it, Jack tried push it into her palms. "Here, try some Rosie. It'll wake you-"

He never got to finish his sentence. Rose gave a frustrated cry and pushed the dirty mug away from her. It flew from Jack's hands and landed on the stone floor with a loud crash as it shattered. "It's filthy!" She clumsily climbed out of the now wooden, rotting bed and backed away from them. "It's...it's just a mug! A dirty old mug! Why can't you see?"

Donna stepped forward. "It's the same, Rose," she said soothingly.

"But it isn't, Donna! It _isn't_!" Every muscle in her body was tense, and her heart pounded with the fear she'd thought she'd gotten rid of. What was happening?

"Look, this'll cheer you up." Donna desperately picked up two long pieces of fabric from where they hung on a nearby chair. "They brought our dresses!"

Rose stared at the material; there was barely anything left of it. It was dull and gray, and had been ripped to shreds long before Donna had been given it. "It's dirty...just d-dirty rags."

The Doctor came up from behind Donna and took the offended woman by the elbow. "Rose, you need to calm down. These people have been very kind to us. They've given us everything."

"They've given you nothing," Rose replied softly, shaking her head and backing towards the door. She was about to turn and flee, when the doors suddenly flew open. She turned around, and her heart drooped in fear when the dark-haired man from the previous night walked in, his robes now tattered and ragged, but his eyes still dark and unblinking; black orbs drilling into her very soul and seeing her. _Really_ seeing her.

"He knows..." she whispered. She turned back to her worried companions. "He knows it hasn't worked on me!"

"What's the matter?" The man walked closer and offered her his hand. She didn't take it, but eyes the door over his shoulder. "Aren't you feeling well? Let me take you to our physicians."

"No! _Please_, no!" Rose continued to walk away from the four of them, trying to figure out how to escape so she could figure out what was happening. If she could only get to the door, she might have a chance. Suddenly, her foot bumped into something, and she looked down in surprise. It was Jack's gun. She barely thought of what she was doing as she quickly bent down, scooped the blaster up, and found herself aiming it at the man's chest. "Please, whatever's happening, just let them go."

She'd never held a gun in her life, and wasn't sure that she could actually shoot somebody, but the trigger felt so familiar; as if Jack were standing next to her and pointing the gun for her. When the man didn't reply to her plea, she tried to calm the adrenaline that now pumped through her veins, and looked back at her friends, who all wore looks of shock and worry. "I don't know what they've done to you," she gasped out as she tried to move closer to the door. "Or why it hasn't worked on me, and I have to find a way to fix things before it's too late."

As she talked the tall stranger moved closer, eyes unblinking as he neared her. She held her ground, and continued to point the blaster at his chest, but was unable to make herself pull the trigger. Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed her, nails biting into her skin as she struggled against him. Rose gave a yell, and bought the blaster down on to his arm, hitting him with all the force she could muster. The arm let go of her, and the gun fell to the ground with a crash, but she didn't waste time to pick it up.

She ran. Across the room and through the doors, barely sparing a moment to stare back at her friends, whose stares had now become lifeless and uncaring. "I'm sorry," she choked out, turning from them and sprinting through the large doors that had imprisoned her. She was free.

* * *

**Have a happy March Break!**


	17. The Velvet Web Part 4

**A/N: Hi again! Hopefully this chapter will be a bit more comprehensive than the last few; it's the first time in a while that I haven't written this late at night. Plus, I realized that I've just been going off the transcript for the past couple of chapters, and haven't really been watching the actual episode for reference. So sorry to anyone who's seen the original, if the descriptions and stuff were a bit off. I'm hoping this chapter makes up for it! Also, I think I should warn you, in this chapter things go even more AUish than usual. I couldn't help myself.**

**~M&M**

KittyKatZorse: Thank yooooooou! Hopefully you'll like this chappie too, it's the one where things start to make a bit more sense. But just a bit.

AshleySciFigirl: Oooh Spring Break; I like that! I might start saying it to confuse my friends. Although knowing them, they're probably already in on it and will know exactly what I'm saying. Thanks for the review, glad you're enjoying it! :)

SciFiGeek14: Meh. He's been brainwashed, the poor sod. Oooh it _does_ look like a mitten! Thanks, now I can point to Michigan on a map whenever I want. (You lot have so many states, I don't know how you cope.) I'm on the far East of the peninsula thingy, right on the border of New York state, so you're still quite far off. And the Invasion of Time...argh. Starts _really_ good; the Doctor becomes president of Gallifrey and betrays the time lords for his new invisible masters, and we get lots of shots of Tom Baker laughing evilly and playing hopscotch. Then half-way through it all just falls apart. I was cringing the entire time. :( And yes, it is Sontarens, but they don't deserve the name; their get-up is quite possibly the worst the BBC costume department has ever produced.

Laura Harkness: Oooh I know! This is where everything gets super exciting. I love the Velvet Web, it's just so cool! And the dress/rag thing bit was always a favourite of mine. I love the bit in the original where Barbs tells Susan her dress is just rags, and we see Susan clutching this really disgusting piece of worn material as close to her as possible; it's a great moment. :D

Ta!

* * *

When Rose stumbled through the doors, she found herself in a large, stone courtyard; much like the room she'd just left behind, but emptier, and without what was left of her friends. Massive stone pillars lined the walls, and Rose ducked behind one when she heard heavy footsteps following her.

She peeked out from behind the stone column, and saw that same man; dark, lifeless eyes surveying the room with minimal interest, but obviously searching for her. Having decided that there was no one there, he walked across the courtyard, and entered another door on the far side. Making sure to keep a large distance between them, Rose followed, slipping off her trainers as she did so to avoid making any sound.

The cold floor made her shiver, and as she remembered the previous day, when it had been so warm and she'd had everything, and everyone that she'd wanted, it was all Rose could do to stop herself from breaking down. She desperately wanted to find some dark nook in these hallways and let herself curl in on herself and cry, because right now she had nothing; no friends, no Doctor and no idea what was going on. But she had to keep going, and would have to force herself to follow this man if she wanted to figure out what was happening. She'd told the Doctor, Donna and Jack that she'd figure out a way to fix things, and she couldn't give up now. It was all up to her.

Ahead, Rose saw the man's long robes disappear through another door, and ran towards the entranceway as it slammed shut, mentally cringing as her bare feet slapped loudly against the stone floor. She approached the doorway carefully, and was about to open it when she heard voices coming from within. She swallowed nervously and placed her ear against the large door. The wooden barrier was thick, but she could just about make out what was being said.

"...resisted the power of...escaped into the city." Rose frowned at the now-familiar voice of the man she'd been following. She'd been in tons of alien cities since she'd started traveling, and where she was right now didn't look like any of them.

"Who placed the disks?" She jumped when the second voice spoke. It was deep and clear, but seemed to pulse and wobble as it pierced the air. What disks? Rose suddenly had a flashback; When they'd first come here, in that cold, cramped closet, she'd seen a bag of small disks, which she'd mistaken for poker chips...She thought back even more, and remember what Jack had said; "_When I materialized I tripped on this bag full of discs someone left lying about, and I banged myself on the wall._" And a more recent, yet somehow distant memory; sitting up in bed, a small circular object falling on to her lap, the same objects resting on each of her companion's foreheads... Whatever had happened to them, Rose decided, it has something to do with those disks. Rose pressed herself closer to the door and held her breath so her could hear what the man's voice would say next.

"The woman..." Rose frowned; there were loads of girls here, and this newest piece of information didn't help one bit.

"She has failed us," replied the pulsing voice. "and she must be punished. Return now to the other three and reassure them about their friend. Take them to the room they requested. In four hours we will give them the final exposure to the Mesmeron, and they will be completely subjugated."

"Mesmeron..." Rose whispered to herself, trying to remember the word in case she needed it later. The Doctor was always going on about the power of words, and this was her chance to put that to the test. She froze however, at what she heard next.

"And what of the one that has escaped?" The man's voice was clearer now, and Rose realized he was walking towards the doorway. She stumbled backwards, and hid behind another nearby pillar, mentally thanking whoever had chosen to place these columns here so strategically.

As she did so, she heard one last thing, which made her swallow nervously from her hiding place. "She has seen the truth and is beyond our control. Find her. Destroy her."

As she watched, the man from before emerged from the doorway. He turned, and bowed to whatever he'd been talking to, before walking back to where he'd originally come from as the door slammed shut. Rose continued to follow, this time a feeling a little bit more positive about her current situation. For the first time in a while, she had some idea what was going on, and she couldn't help but smile proudly to herself as she followed the sound of heavy footsteps and tattered, swishing robes.

* * *

A little while later, Rose watched with hitched breath as Jack and the Doctor were escorted from their room. Both men were chatting eagerly to one another, and Rose ached to be able to hear them properly, and be part of their conversation. When they were guided through a nearby doorway, she shifted, and ran to press her ear against its wood. She seemed to be doing this a lot lately.

Inside, she could clearly hear voices, and smiled when she heard Jack's. "But...wow...that's amazing!"

"Brilliant!" Rose beamed at the familiar sound of the Doctor's excited voice. "Just brilliant! A whole roomful! They really can give you anything!"

"Don't eat them now! We need to take some back to Donna. You know what she'll be like if we eat lunch without her."

A long sigh. "Mmm, suppose so. Here grab these one's, and I'll..." Rose ran from the door as her friends came through it, and her eyes widened when she saw that they weren't holding anything. As their footsteps because quieter, she walked to the room and pulled open the door.

There was nothing there; no bananas, but just another cold, dark room with stone walls and bare floors.

Rose was starting to get sick of this place.

* * *

She walked down a long hallway, still searching for clues as to what was happening. She'd long since lost the man she'd been following and felt uneasy, as if he might come around the corner any second. Almost instinctively, she found herself looking for hiding places whenever she entered a new room.

But after a while, each room began to look like the last, and Rose realized that she was completely lost. She gave a sigh of annoyance and stopped walked as she tried to gather her bearings, but paused when she heard a soft, muffled sound. She walked to a nearby door, which she was sure she'd heard it come from, and listened. Through the thick wood she could hear someone whimpering to themselves, and her heart gave a leap; maybe this person had escaped the brainwashing like she had!

Rose grabbed the doorknob and carefully eased the door open, happy it was unlocked but still nervous about what she might find on the other side. As it swung open, she could just make out a small room in the dim light, and she gave a small gasp when she realized someone was sitting in the corner.

"H-hello?" There was no answer, but the body rocked back and forth gently, whimpering and whispering to itself. "Look, it's okay...I'm not going to hurt you. My name's Rose." She walked closer and stooped down to see the person's face.

When she did so she bit her lip so stop herself from crying out; it was the same dark-haired woman she'd taken the fruit from the night before. Her brown eyes continued to stare through the young girl, but unlike before, when her expression had seemed empty and lifeless, there was a hint of terror on her face. Rose reached out and touched the her shoulder, trying to ease the woman's fear.

The woman stopped whispering to herself and stared right at Rose; still not really _seeing_ at her, but looking at her. "I made a mistake," she said in a soft, monotonous voice. "I am to be punished."

"No! No, you aren't!" Rose rubbed the woman's arm, trying to comfort her. "The door's open, see? We can get you out of here, yeah?"

"I am to be punished." Rose swallowed, suddenly getting the feeling that the door hadn't even been locked before she'd come along.

"Listen to me. I think you're under some sort of deep hypnosis. I know it's hard, I _know_, but I need you to tell me all you can about this place."

"I am to be punished."

Rose groaned and let go of the brainwashed woman, leaning against the stone wall and sitting down. "Oh, what's the point?" She rubbed her thumbs over eyes in sudden exhaustion and smiled at the woman. "Still, it's nice to be talking to someone else, you know?" Even if the woman wasn't all there, Rose reveled in her company, and the chance to finally rest from her search.

"I made a mistake. I am to be punished"

"Mhmm, I bet you are." Rose's smile faded. "Hold, on...you...made a mistake? But then..." she grinned to herself, having figured out who this woman was. "You're the woman who put the disks on our heads!"

"I made a mistake..."

* * *

A few minutes later, Rose found herself pacing the floor in front of her new friend. Or at least, she liked to think of her as her friend. It made her feel a bit less lonely. "So, you had to put those disks on us while we were sleeping to, I don't know, brainwash us a bit more or somethin'. But mine slipped off when I woke up, so you got all the blame, yeah? And now you're gonna be punished." She stopped pacing and smiled at the woman, who was still sitting on the floor, fiddling with a thin chain that hung around her neck. "But please, I can save you. You just need to come with me, and we can figure out what's going on."

When the woman didn't reply she sat back down next to her. "I know you're scared, but you're different than the others. You've managed to break free from this mind control thing a little bit, and that means there might be hope for my friends." Still no answer. Rose moaned and banged her head against the stone wall. She looked over at the strange woman, taking in her empty eyes and short black hair, and noticed the chain she'd been fiddling with for the past few minutes.

On it hung a small, square , transparent object, which glistened softly despite the lack of light in the cell. Rose recognized it instantly; it was one of the micro-circuits; a key to the Conscience of Marinus.

"Oh! Where did you get that?" She reached out to have a better look at the key, but the woman leaped away from her, eyes filled with anger.

"It's mine!"

"I don't want to take it away from you, I just really, _really_ need to know where you got it from."

The same faraway look entered the woman's eyes. "They gave it to me....My masters. It was the thing I desired most." She looked back at Rose. "It's mine.

"But why? Why did you want it?"

"It's _mine_!"

Rose grabbed hold of the woman's arm as it suddenly occurred to her who this might be. "Listen...does the name Arbitan mean anything to you?" She held her breath in anticipation of the woman's answer.

For the first time since they'd met, Rose saw a flicker of recognition appear on the woman's face. "A-Arbitan?"

"Yeah, Arbitan! You remember him!" Rose grinned, letting her excitement get the best of her. "Do you remember how you knew him? Please, I know it's difficult for you, but I need you to remember _everything_."

"Arbitan..." the woman mumbled again. "He...sent me here. It was-" She gasped and pushed herself back against the wall in obvious frustration. "I can't remember."

Rose bit nervously on her nail, and decided to find out if what she was guessing was true. "Was Arbitan...you father?"

"My father?" When Rose nodded, the woman looked away for a second, as if thinking. "No."

Rose released a breath she hadn't noticed she'd been holding. Of course she wasn't Arbitan's daughter. He'd sent so many people to Morphoton, and the chances of this woman being the one Rose had desperately wanted to find were slim.

"Sabetha..." the woman whispered.

Rose looked at her in confusion. "What?"

"Sabetha was his daughter."

Rose gave a delighted laugh. "Sabetha! That's great! That's really great!" She grabbed her new friend's hand and gave it a squeeze. "Look, I need to find her. Do you know where she is?"

The woman looked away from Rose, dark eyes pondering as an internal battle took place for ownership of her mind. Rose let go of her hand, giving her time to remember what she needed. When the woman looked back at her, Rose nodded in encouragement, and for the first time ever, their eyes met. The woman stared at her, stared right into her just like the man from before had, and whispered one word that made Rose's blood run cold.

"Dead."

* * *

**Ohoho! You hate me, I know.**


	18. The Velvet Web Part 5

**A/N: It's not the longest of chapters, I know, but it was either type up some more of this or start on my homework, so.... :D But I hope you all enjoy it anyway!**

**Also, quick fact/rumour/whatever this is. I was bored, so I looked up the Voords for a laugh, and guess what I found out? They were in a Sixth Doctor adventure, a comic book or something, and in it they end up being mutated and transformed into a new race called...The Cybermen!!! I honestly don't know how valid that's meant to be, but I'm _so_ willing to believe it! Has anyone ever read that? Because it sounds awesome!**

**~M&M**

Jasper winked: Oooh, I hadn't thought of that before! (The rebellion idea, I mean) If you don't mind, I might just use that. Haha. I sound like Shakespeare. Ha.

KittyKatZorse: Oooh me too! Seriously, I was tempted to just write the next chapter straight away so I could reveal what happens next. But I decided to keep you all waiting, because I'm evil like that.

Laura Harkness: Yay!I finally got Rose down! :D Now I just need to keep her that way.

Ta!

* * *

"What? But...but h-how?" A tear dripped down Rose's cheek. "Oh god, Arbitan...What am I gonna tell him?" She stifled a sob and looked back to where the woman sat. "Please, just concentrate for a bit more...how'd it happen?"

"Dead..." The woman whispered again.

"I _really_ need you to tell me. She was Arbitan's only daughter, and I promised him I'd find her. At least tell me how she..."

"Dead." A frantic look entered the woman's eyes, and her voice grew louder. "Dead...dead...dead...dead...dead...dead. Dead! _Dead_!"

"No!" Rose yelled as her whispers turned into yells. "No, please just shut up! They'll hear us!" Rose tried to shush her, but stopped when she heard footsteps coming towards them. She gave a whimper and shut the cell's door, which was still hanging open from when she'd entered the room. After a moment of panic, she ran to the far wall, pressing herself against it so that the door would conceal her if it opened.

When it did swing open, it was all she could do to stop herself from crying out, for it was that same man, who now seemed so achingly familiar. Rose watched from her hiding place, shivering at how close she was to him, as he walked into the small room and stared down at the now-silent woman. She was still sitting on the floor, but was rocking back and forth, and staring straight ahead.

"Who were you talking to?" There was no answer. "You are to come with me."

When she didn't move, the man leaned down to force her towards the door, and Rose remembered what the woman had said earlier.

"_I am to be punished_."

She involuntarily cried out in fear for her friend, and all three people in the room froze; Rose clamped a hand over her lips in horror, the woman stopped rocking and looked to where Rose was hidden, and the man...he slowly turned around, and pushed the door out of the way, dead-black eyes staring down at her.

"Destroy her," he said softly, and before Rose could even comprehend what was happening, she felt the cool flesh of his hands closing around her neck, and let out a silent, yet terrified scream. She could feel what little air she already had disappearing from her lungs, and as the world went black, she realized she'd never see her friends ever again. Donna, Jack and the Doctor would never find out what happened to her, and what made it even worse was that they wouldn't even remember who she was...

Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and Rose felt herself tumble to the floor as the hands strangling her let go. For a moment she lay there, coughing breathlessly as she sobbed to herself, and then risked a look at the rest of the room's occupants. Her attacker lay nearby, eyes closed and unmoving. Above them stood the woman, her shoe held in her left hand, bent slightly from where it had made contact with his head.

Gasping for breath, Rose climbed to her feet. "You saved me..." she said softly, taking the woman's arm and holding it tightly.

"Dead?" was her saviour's only answer.

Rose looked down at the man; he was still breathing, and his head wasn't bleeding from the blow. He'd be fine. Or at least, that was what Rose hoped. "He's just unconscious. He'll be alright. C'mon, we need to get out of here."

She made to pull her friend towards the door, but the woman held her ground, still staring down at the body on the floor. She slipped out of Rose's grip and lowered herself to his side.

Rose groaned. This was all she needed. "Listen, I gotta go. I need to try and convince my friends this is all real, but if I do I promise I'll come back for you." She gazed at the silent woman for a few more seconds, before running out the cell door and back into the hallways.

* * *

She was lost again. Unable to find anything even vaguely familiar, Rose gave a moan of frustration. How was she ever going to find her friends when everything here looked the exact same? She continued to walk, trying to memorize each identical doorway so that she could eventually return to the woman she'd left behind before that man woke.

But as she stumbled through the labyrinth of hallways, Rose finally noticed something different; a large, wooden door, much bigger than the others she'd seen, and covered in various carvings. It took her a moment, and then she realized where she'd seen it before. It was the door they'd originally came out of, which led to the closet they'd where they'd materialized. But if that was true, then Rose knew exactly where she was, and who was nearby. She turned around, and gave a gasp as she noticed something else familiar.

A tall, skinny man stood at the entrance to the next room. He was clad in a brown, pinstriped suit, and had messy brown hair that matched his lifeless eyes. Rose gave a nervous swallow. "D-Doctor?"

He walked towards her. "You're the one that escaped. The one they told me about."

He didn't remember her. "Doctor, listen. It's me, Rose! Y-you've been brainwashed by um...a-a _Mesmeron_, and..." She trailed off as he came closer, still not recognizing her. "Doctor, stop. _Stop_!" He grabbed her.

"I must take you to them," Rose felt him whisper into her ear, and she struggled, twisting and yelling in his arms, but the Time Lord's arms held her close. It was something she usually enjoyed, but this was so different to his hugs; this time there was none of his friendly warmth or comfort, just his fingers digging into her skin as he dragged her away.

Unable to fight anymore, she went slack in his arms. "Please..."

* * *

After a few minutes they reached yet another door, and Rose realized that she'd definitely seen this one before; it was the door she'd first listened to, where she'd heard that deep, warped voice. No sooner had she realized this, than she was literally shoved through it and into the room on the other side.

She stumbled for a moment, and grabbed on to the first thing her hands could reach, something long, cold, and metal. For a moment she just stood there, bent over slightly and breathing quickly as she trembled, but then she looked up. For a moment she simply took in what lay before her; the large, steaming machines, and the long strands of wiring which engulfed the entire room. But then she registered what was only inches away, and complete and utter fear clutched at her heart as she stared at what the room held...

As she stared into the eight eyes of her captors.

* * *

**Please review!**


	19. The Velvet Web Part 6

**A/N: Hello! Another short(ish) chapter than usual but, like usual, I really need to go to bed soon. Yawn. Anyway, have fun reading, and remember to rev-zzzzzzzzzz...**

**~M&M**

KittyKatZorse: AARRRRGH! *Attacks with defibrillators* Do defibrillators even work for suffocation? Probably not. I can't remember... But it makes a fun sound, so it works for me. Anyway, hopefully that helped with your breathing troubles, and thanks! I'm glad you're liking this so much!

Jasper winked:Ooooh yes the woman's very, very important. And don't worry; everything will become clear in this chapter. Well, not _everything_, but most things. A few things. One or two things. Yeah.

Laura Harkness: Pretty good for someone sleep deprived, eh? Thanks for the review, glad I'm getting everything in place writing-wise, since that's a big concern for me!

Night...

* * *

"Oh, god..." Rose whispered as she recoiled in horror and backed away from the focus of her attention. She felt the Doctor grab her arms and push her closer to her captor, but when she turned to look back at him his eyes still stared right through her. It was a strange and horrible situation that she'd never been in before, and Rose couldn't help but stare back for a few more moments, trying to find some trace of her best friend. There was still nothing. Balling her fists in anger she ignored the lonely tear that was dripping down her cheek and turned back to face her foe, feet shifting nervously as she did so. It had always been leading up to this, she told herself, because without this conflict, she could never win. But that didn't stop the fear from slashing its way through her mind as it stared back. Although what _it_ was, she wasn't quite sure.

Across the room, four large tanks stood on glass pedestals, and inside each tank lay a wet, pulsing brain. They were huge, each at least twice the size of what Rose would have thought a normal brain looked like, and throbbed on their stands as slow dribbles of fluid poured from them like water from a broken faucet. At the top of each, two long stalks rose high in the air, and on the end of each creatures' two stalks was a pair of eyes, all of which stared at her in curiosity.

"You escaped the Mesmeron." Rose jumped as the familiar voice boomed throughout the room. "How did you do this?"

"Th-that's not any of your business." Rose tried to compose herself, looking the creature straight in the eye as she did so, or at least, as best as she could when there were four of them. She couldn't panic, not now, when so many people's lives were at stake. Especially if one of those people was the amazing man standing behind her without a single memory of who she was. "Who...I mean, what are you?"

There was a pause, as if the brains were considering whether or not they should tell her, and their more egotistic side seemed to win out. "We are the Morpho, and we are the masters of this place. Our brains outgrew our bodies, it is our intelligence that has created this whole city. But we need the help of the human body to feed us and to carry out our orders."

"You've been using all these people as slaves." Rose stated, her blood running cold. "You got rid of any memories, or feeling, and turned them into machines."

"Much more than machines. The human body is the most flexible instrument in the world, no mechanical device could reproduce its mobility and dexterity."

Rose felt like being sick. "Well then I guess you're not to happy about losing your bodies then, yeah?"

"The change was necessary." The voice grew louder, as if the sound was being exaggerated, reinforced, and chanted by all four of the room's residents. And even louder; "The change was necessary! Necessary! _Necessary_!"

"Yeah, _alright_!" Rose shouted back; she was eerily reminded of the woman's chant about being punished all over again. When the brains stopped their yelling, she swallowed nervously. "So, am I gonna be one of your slaves, then? Is that how it works?" No matter what happened, she was going to go out fighting. Just like the...just like the Doctor would want her to. Because he was gone, she'd realized. That man behind her, wasn't the Doctor. But that wasn't going to stop her from fighting for him.

"No. You have seen the truth of our city. It is beyond our power to erase this from your memory. You must be destroyed. Kill her. _Kill her_!"

By the time Rose had realized who the last two sentences were for, the Doctor was already upon her. His hands twisted around her neck without hesitation, but this time she didn't scream helplessly, but struggled against his grasp, arms flailing for some sort of support.

"Please..."

"Kill her!"

"No, _please_, don't..."

"Kill her!"

"Doctor..." Her hand made contact with something lying on the nearby table, which felt like one of the old, moldy mugs from before, and Rose couldn't stop herself; she grabbed it as the Doctor's grip tightened on her for one last time, and slammed it into the side of his head.

He fell to the floor, and Rose remained standing, whimpering to herself as she trembled over his body and clutching the mug to her chest. After a moment of shock, she bent down, and shakily placed a hand over his right heart. It was still beating. Rose gave a gasp of relief, but her smile faded when she turned around, and faced the cruel, dark eyes which continued to stare at her, this time filled with the unmistakable look of fear.

Fury consumed her, filling her heart as each and every memory of everything these creatures had done to her and her friends came pouring back, and she ran. Rose bounded towards the tanks and brought the mug down on the glass containers, listened to their dying screams, and screamed along with them as she murdered each of them. Furious tears ran down her cheeks as she continued to smash every instrument keeping the Morpho alive, sobbing to herself out of hate; hate for these creatures, and hate for herself for slaying them so brutally.

Finally, when their screams ceased, she stopped, and slowly slid to the floor as she continued to the cry silently, not able to look at the horrific remains that now lay on the pedestals. For a few minutes she just lay there, curled up next to he Doctor's body, fingers twisted around the sleeve of his jacket as she waited for him to wake up. Time passed by, and she slowly eased herself off of the floor, wiping away her tears as she did so.

She shakily walked over to the door, and looked down to where the Doctor still lay, hesitating about leaving him here, all on his own. But she couldn't carry him, not without help from someone else "I-I'll come back," she whispered. For a moment she continued to gaze at the unmoving body, and then she slipped out of the room once more.

She still had a promise to keep.

* * *

**I considered making this one longer, I really did, but I just need to get to sleep right about now. I may not be updating again until March Break's over, just because I have all my homework to do. But we'll see what happens. And I promise I'll give you all lots of lovely long chapters once I'm through it all. Which could be good or bad, depending on how much you like this story.**

**Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	20. The Velvet Web Part 7

**A/N: I'm baaack! Sorry about the break, everyone. Had homework, work, etc. Yeah, usual story. Anyway, I hope everyone had a great March Break! And that you're all having a great Easter weekend. (Four days of no school yay!) And, you know, all the lovely times in between. Anyway, I've finally gotten to the point when I can start tying up the loose ends of The Velvet Web. We're not _quite_ done yet, I've got one more big twist, which actually occurs in this chapter! Sorry, but the New Who fans probably won't understand this one, but I'll do my best to explain it. Also, I've noticed that since the last few chapters became more centered around Rose, there hasn't been much of the more humorous moments that I've made such a big part of this fic. I've been writing only this for so long that I've been making it really angsty lately. Like I've said a few times, I'm an angst author, and it's hard for me not to write a fic where I'm sticking all the characters in the blender. So end of story, I've started a new fic that I can use to get rid of all my angsty urges, so it should (hopefully) stop showing in this one. But I've still got a few loose ends to tie up, so this chapters is one last burst of angstiness. But hopefully that won't last too long, since the whole gang will be back together soon! Yay!**

**~M&M**

SciFiGeek14: Aw poor Doctor. Still, it made for good TV in the 60s and it's still quite entertaining now. :D You lucky thing! For some reason I've barely gone on a single field trip since I entered high school. I miss it. :( Plus I've never even been near all those cities. Toronto's about as exciting as it gets on a regular basis. And no offense to anyone who lives in Toronto, but every time I go there it's seems to be garbage day EVERY day. I'm not saying it smells there, just that there seems to be garbage bags everywhere. And they smell.

KittyKayZorse: Cor, I know! Ever since I split her up from the rest of the gang I've been able to get a better handle on Rose's character. Which is why she's been so awesome the past few chapters. And as for the Doctor...well you'll have to wait and see. :D

Jasper winked: Thank you! Personally I'm not overly keen on the past two chapters, mainly since I sort of wrote them quite quickly. Plus, I wrote them in the middle of the day, and this fic only seems to work when I write it late at night. The brain-murdering scene is the perfect example of something I think I could have gone into more detail of if I'd been in the right mind-set. But I'm glad you enjoyed it! And yeah brains with eyes are amazing! Unfortunately in the original you see them before Barbara (Rose's replacement in the original) does, so that ruins some of the mystery, but in my version I tried to avoid them as much as possible until the climax. :)

Laura Harkness: Ooooh I know! I loved updating this so much during the break. But now that all the chaos in my life is (sort of) over I'm hoping to get back into a regular schedule. Thanks for the help with the grammar! As I'm pretty sure I've already complained to someone in another reply, this fic only seems to work when I write it late at night, and that chapter was written in the middle of the day, which might account to its odd language (And the fact that I'm not really pleased with it as a whole.) I know, I'm just looking for something to blame my comma problems on. It's a bit sad. :D Anyway, thanks for the help, and I've revised the last chapter and changed that particular sentence, so hopefully it'll now read a bit better.

Thanks again for the reviews everyone!

* * *

Things were different.

Not physically, of course. The long, stone hallways were still dark and cold, and Rose's feet were still freezing, but things were different nonetheless. Because while the Morpho's world itself remained unchanged, their prisoners were now free.

As Rose walked back through the corridors, small groups of people wandered by, each looking as confused as the next. At first she jumped whenever they walked past her, and almost instinctively broke into a run, but after a few scares she quickly realized that no one wanted to hurt her. The Morpho's spell had been broken. And now all that was left was multitudes of ex-slaves dressed in torn robes and a cold city, which had been dead long before the Morpho had been murdered.

Rose shivered as she remembered what had just happened. She could still feel the salty tracks that lingered on her cheeks from when she'd been crying, and her hands ached with the memory of breaking glass and mutilated brains, but nothing compared to the horror of being attacked by her best friend. If there was one person Rose knew she could always rely on, it was the Doctor, but she was still struggling to come to terms with what he'd tried to do to her, and what she'd eventually been forced to do to him.

But now she had to try and push those memories out of her mind. The Morpho were dead, and the Doctor was no longer under their control. Once she'd seen that everyone was free from their captors, it had been so hard to keep going, and Rose had wanted nothing more than to run back to the Doctor's prone body and wait for him to wake up, but before she did there was someone else she needed to look after.

The thing was, Rose decided, that it was extremely hard to fulfill promises when the other person wouldn't keep their end of the bargain. When the girl had finally gotten to the small cell where she'd left them, both the man and the woman's bodies were gone, and by now she was beginning to become worried for her friend's safety. But after a few minutes of standing in the doorway of the cell as she weighed up her options, Rose had decided the best thing to do was to figure out where everyone else was.

And that was how she'd gotten here, slowly joining a small crowd of people, all looking for their loved ones as they streamed through the hallway. Everyone was talking, desperately trying to figure out what had happened to them, and it broke Rose's heart when it occurred to her that some people must have been here for years. However, she eventually decided not to say anything, simply because she was too exhausted, but also because she wasn't sure what she'd say anyway.

Her group of fellow wanderers eventually entered one of the huge courtyards she'd hidden in before, and Rose couldn't help but smile when she saw that it was full of people, all hugging each other in delight as their laughter filled the air. Resisting the urge to join in, she scanned the room, biting her lip in nervousness when she didn't see any familiar faces.

She couldn't help it; now that the adrenaline that had been running through her veins was beginning to die down, the sheer exhaustion of her lone adventure had caught up with her, and she slid down against the brick wall until she met the ground. Leaning her head back as she closed her eyes, Rose let the roar of the crowd die away until she finally slipped away and slept...

* * *

"Rose?" For the second time in the past day Rose awoke to the feel of long fingers brushing against her arms, and she jerked to life to the sound of her best friend's voice. The Doctor looked down at her from where he crouched, a soft, sad smile playing against her lips as he stared down at her proudly. "Hello."

It took a second for her to register that he was actually here, and that he was actually himself. She tried to swallow back the memories of the Time Lord dragging her to meet the Morpho and smiled back timidly. "You're back."

"Oh yes!" He sat down next to her, and Rose felt herself tense up for a second at how close he was to her. "Couldn't let you have all the fun, could I?

She sniffed to herself. "Suppose not. Wasn't much fun, though."

"I don't doubt that." He looked down at her, brow creasing in slight worry as he took in the ghostly look in her eye. "You okay?"

"I'm...yeah, I'm fine." She gave a deep sigh, and closed her eyes for a minute, finding it incredibly difficult to look at him. "There was this thing, the um, the Mesmeron, and these brains called the Morpho, and they were-"

"I know," he interrupted with a sigh. "Pieced it all together when I woke up."

"You remember it?"

"Sort of. Bit blurry, but I remembered more than everyone else the Morpho captured." He shot her a wide grin. "Superior biology and all that."

"Then...then you remember what I had to do?" Rose felt herself tremble as the memory resurfaced.

He didn't say anything but gave a quick nod. When he saw the look on her face though, he scooted a little bit closer. "Shh," he whispered. "It's alright, Rose. It's alright now."

"I'm sorry," Rose whimpered back. "I didn't know what to do, and I couldn't help myself, and I just...I just..." Unable to hold it back any longer, she began to cry, placing her hands over her face in embarrassment at her sudden breakdown and curling up into a fetal position. Her sobs were cut short, however, when she felt the Doctor instinctively wrap his arms around her and a bout of panic rose within her. The memory of those same arms, wrapped around her as he dragged her to the Morpho, hit her hard, and she couldn't help but push him away with a cry of alarm.

As she scooted away from him, Rose saw a flash of hurt in his eyes, and felt a wave of horror wash over her as her common sense began to return. "Oh _god_, Doctor. I'm sorry, I really am, I just-"

But he shook his head, the look of shock fading, and being replaced by a kind smile. "S'alright. Wouldn't expect any more from you." He lowered his voice and repressed the urge to hug her again. "I understand."

She nodded numbly, and followed suit when he climbed to his feet. Her legs felt shaky from sitting for so long, but she managed the feat surprisingly well, wobbling a little bit, and only flinching slightly when the Doctor reached out to steady her. Giving a small, guilty sigh, she looked up at him, trying to tell him just how sorry he was about what had happened. "Doctor, I-"

The next few seconds were a bit of a blur. There was a loud crash, she heard the Doctor shout something, and at the same time she felt two strong arms wrap around her as someone else yelled, "SURPRISE HUG!"

Ignoring the small tinge of fear in the back of her head, Rose gave a laugh and hugged Jack back, feeling more than relieved to see him again. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you!"

"Right back at ya," he laughed, and then turned towards the Doctor, still holding Rose close as he did so. "What's keeping ya, Doc? Come on, you're missing the party!"

The Doctor opened his mouth, more than ready to politely excuse himself from the hug for Rose's sake, but paused when Rose gave a shy nod of permission. After keeping his distance for a moment to make sure she was certain, he finally walked forward and engulfed his two friends in a tight hug.

Somewhere in the back of Rose's head, there was a quick moment of panic, but she concentrated on the fact that Jack was there, and that she knew he'd look after her if anything went wrong. She looked up at the time agent, and the expression on his face clearly showed that he'd guessed something was up, but wouldn't question either of them about what had happened. Finally finding a place of mental comfort, she leaned away from Jack, and sagged against the Doctor's chest. A few moments passed, and then Jack let go of her, but the Doctor's arms stayed put, ready to withdraw at the slightest indication of panic.

But she felt content, and could feel the fear and the loneliness melting away because of her two friends. She leaned back and looked up at the Doctor. "Sorry about earlier. It was silly of me."

He grinned. "Wouldn't have you any other way." She smiled back. "Oh, and by the way...thank you."

She looked up into his sincere eyes happily. "Don't mention it." She pulled him close for one last hug.

"I don't really want to disturb you two," Jack cut in, forcing them to pull apart and pay attention to him. "But I brought someone else."

Rose's eyes drifted past Jack's shoulder to focus on someone who had only just arrived. "Donna!" She ran forward and grabbed the redhead in a huge hug. "What took you?"

Donna laughed and hugged the girl back. "He ran off without me! S'all good for you; you've got all these men wrapped around your finger, but I had to go do some proper investigating!"

Rose released her friend from the hug and giggled. "Oh, get you! So what did you find?"

Donna grinned proudly and turned around, waving someone over. "Over here!"

Out of the surrounding crowd walked two people, and after the initial moment of surprise Rose wasn't sure whether she should run towards or away from them. One was her 'friend'; the tall, dark-haired woman she'd found in the cellar, still clad in Grecian robes with the key of Marinus hanging from her neck. But the other...the other was the man she'd followed through the city's hallways, who'd attacked and tried to kill her. Rose swallowed nervously. While their once lifeless eyes were now filled with emotion, and they looked just as nervous as Rose felt, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear when that man stepped forward.

Jack walked towards them and guided the couple over. "Well, she says _she_ did all the investigating, but I helped. Just a bit!" he added after receiving a glare from Donna. He rolled his eyes at the redhead and turned back to where the others were standing.

"Rose, Doctor, I'd like you to meet Ian and Barbara."

* * *

**Right, I'm going to try and explain this for anyone reading this who isn't familiar with the classics. Before Mickey and Martha, before Jack and erm, pretty much anyone, and even before the Doctor and Rose, there was Ian and Barbara. They're pretty much _the_ original Doctor Who ship, and were the Doctor's companions in the original Keys of Marinus.**

**But don't worry; in the original their role in this story was taken by two characters called Altos and Sabetha. (Yes, I did kill Sabetha off especially for this story. Oops...) And they didn't really have a_ huge_ role in the original, more just there for moral support, and I'm going to be following the same track with Ian and Barbara. It's just that the opportunity to stick them in this was too much to pass up, and I've never written them before, so it's exciting. :D**

**Also, I'm just putting this out there, despite the fact that I have no idea if anyone even reads the _huge_ rambles that are my author notes: Do any Classic fans reading this have a problem with me treating Ian and Barbara like a couple? (Or a couple-to-be, if you get what I'm saying?) I know Altos and Sabetha definitely had something going on, and I've never met anyone who didn't want Ian and Barbara to get together, but if anyone has a problem with me giving them a moment or two just say. I've been trying to make this fic completely ship free, and while a bit of the Rose/Doctor shipper living in me does appear every now and then, I wouldn't mind sticking in a bit of Ian/Barbara romance. A healthy dose, mind. So anyway, if you'd rather I kept their personal lives out of this, just leave me a review and say.**


	21. The Velvet Web Part 8

**A/N: Last chapter of The Velvet Web! Horray! Sort of. I love this episode so much, but by now I think I've sort of exhausted it, and gotten everything I can out of it. And while we're on the subject, and now that everyone reading this is familiar with Morphoton...does anyone know why it's called the Velvet Web? Because there's no giant spiders or anything in this. And quite right too. Mind control is _so_ much cooler than giant spiders! Lower budget, but cool. But that still doesn't explain why it's called the Velvet Web. Anyway, hope you enjoy this bit, and if you do, REVIEW!**

**~M&M**

Laura Harkness: Did it!! I went out to our own shed/barn and had a good old read-aloud where my crazy family couldn't get to me. And it worked! Which is great; I'm always re-reading my stuff in my head like a maniac but I'm definitely sticking to reading it aloud from now on. Thanks! And oh, I like the word forte. That definitely describes my angsty writing style. I've just been trying to go in a different direction with this particular fic, and erm, open up new ways of writing and try to excerise my funnier side. Thank you so much for the compliment about the Doctor's dialogue! When I first started writing I was sure that it would be characters like Rose that came more naturally to me, and that characters like the Doctor would be the big challenge. But now I'm completely amazed that it's actually the other way round. Proud of myself, but still amazed. And Ian/Barbara-wise, yeah romance does seem to be a bit overly present in tv and films today, (and I _really_ wish writers would give it a break sometimes) but I always felt that Ian and Barbara's relationship was very natural, and that there was a sort of underlying chemistry there without them even trying. Plus, according to the ever trustworthy source that is wikipedia, they got married in the end. :) But I'm still keeping it to a minimum, just like the original writers did with Arbitan and Sabetha.

SciFiGeek14: According to wikipedia, they _did_ get married in the end! Horray! And they had a kid; a rockstar named Johnny Chess, who actually sounds quite sexy. ;) But I suppose this is an alternate, Marinus version of Ian and Barbara. I just _really_ wanted to give them a part in this fic, and I wasn't about to let canon get in my way. Techincally I _have_ been to cool places. I go to England all the time, since I was born there. But there's only so many times you can go places before the initial excitement of being there wears off. And I'm _so_ jealous that you got to go to Wales! I went _once_ but I was too young to remember. All I can recall is getting a book on fire safety. (Yes, this story is going somewhere...I think) And there was two versions of the book, one in English and one in Welsh. (Which I had never heard of back then) And I was convinced that the Welsh book I'd been stuck with was French, which is just proof that I was raised in Canada. :|

Jasper winked: Awww yeah I think most people have heard of them. And yes, I did slip a _little _bit and add some Ten/Rose lovin' to the last chapter. It's so hard not to...Especially since I had quite a bit of fun writing that bit. :D

* * *

In the end it was Ian who stepped forward first, striding towards them with a hand held out and a warm smile on his face. "You must be the Doctor."

Now that he was no longer under the control of the Mesmeron, his voice had lost it's monotonous drone, and now sounded rich with intelligence. However, Rose couldn't help but back away slightly as he came nearer, and jumped when her shoulder collided with Donna's. When she turned around to see what she'd hit, the redhead gave Rose a confused look, but the girl shook her head to indicate that she was fine.

Meanwhile, the Doctor grinned and stepped forward, meeting Ian halfway with his normal enthusiasm. "Oh yes, that's me! Hello!" His grin stayed put, but he glanced sideways at Jack for just a moment too long, waiting for an explanation.

The time agent smiled. "Ian's-"

"Oh!" Rose broke her silence as realization dawned on her. "You're with Arbitan too!"

All eyes fell on her, and Ian looked stunned for a moment. "Why, yes," he replied in a surprised voice, before turning to Jack. "I thought you said they didn't know we were here?"

Jack blinked. "I didn't know they did."

Rose looked past where they stood, and found herself staring at...what was her name again? "You're...Barbara, yeah?"

Having let Ian do most of the talking until now, Barbara stepped forward with a kind expression on her face, seeming considerably saner than the last time the two women had met. "That's right. And you are...?"

Rose bit her lip. "You don't remember." None of them did. It seemed so alien to her that only she could clearly recall the true horrors of Mesmeron. She looked around sadly, and made eye contact with the Doctor. Apart from the two of them, no one could remember what had happened, and a small, barely significant part of Rose's heart screamed that it wasn't fair that Jack and Donna shouldn't have any memory of their adventure at Morphoton. And on top of that, Barbara had no idea of what they'd been through together. She shook herself out of her thoughts, returned to the present and forced a smile. "I'm Rose."

Barbara's brow creased slightly, and she stepped closer. "Have we met?"

Rose grinned. She recognized her! "You saved my life." At Barbara's confused look she continued. "We've met, yeah. I was running from the Morpho, and I found you. And then, um..." She gestured towards Ian nervously. "He was-"

"He attacked you!" Everyone stared at Barbara in surprise.

You _do_ remember!" breathed Rose.

Barbara placed a pale hand to her forehead. "Just...it's just images. I remember that you were crying, and I had to save you, I was..." She shook her head. "It's hard to remember."

"So it was _you_ who knocked me out!" Ian exclaimed, but his voice was calm and void of anger; he was teasing her.

"She was _scared_," Barbara replied with a frown, but then pursed her lips guiltily. "I'm sorry, Ian."

"I know," he replied gently, and the two exchanged smiles. Around them the roar of the crowd was beginning to fade as everyone began leaving the courtyard, slipping out through the long corridors. He turned back to face the Doctor. "They're planning on burning the city. The sooner we get out of here the better."

"Hold on," the Doctor muttered, pointing to the device he'd just noticed was hanging from Barbara's neck. "That's one of the keys!" His voice rose several pitches in excitement. "You _are_ working for Arbitan!"

Ian nodded. "Yes, that's right. Barbara and I came with a man called..." He trailed off, however, as his eyes fell upon Jack, who was currently exchanging smiles with Barbara. Donna and Rose turned towards each other with suppressed giggles and raised eyebrows. Could it be that Ian was jealous?

The Doctor followed Ian's stare and pointed a finger at the time agent. "Oi! Don't start!"

Jack snapped back to the conversation. "I was just being friendly!" When no one replied he turned back to Ian. "Go on, then."

Ian frowned. "Well, we came with a man name Eprim, but he decided to go ahead to the fourth location."

The Doctor thought back to the map Arbitan had shown him. "That's Millennius, right?" At Ian's nod he turned to his companions. "Huge city in the western part of Marinus. Run by solely by law, extremely civilized and-_Jack_!"

Jack pulled his arm back from around Barbara's shoulder. "I was just-"

"Saying hello!" Rose and Donna chorused.

Barbara blushed. "I don't mind!"

"But I bet Ian does," Donna whispered to Rose, who grinned and shushed her.

The Doctor smiled at Ian, already pretending that nothing had happened. "So where were we? Oh yes! Your friend Eprim went ahead to Millennius. I was thinking of adopting a similar plan."

"You mean, some of us go ahead a few places?" Rose asked.

"No. Just one of us." His companion frowned. "Rose, Millennius is huge, and if I go ahead at least we'll have a bit of a head start once you lot get there. And there's five of you now; the next few places should be easy."

"Oh!" Donna cut in. "We found these in one of the storage cupboards by our room. I guess no one knew just how important they were" She produced several of Arbitan's wristbands and handed them out to Ian, Barbara and Jack; all of whom had had their wristbands taken away when they were given their robes.

"And I've memorized the map, Doctor," added Barbara as she strapped hers on. "So finding the keys shouldn't be a huge problem."

"Oh, Barbara! I like you!" The Doctor grinned as he took out his sonic screwdriver and began reprogramming his own wristband. "So two jumps ahead, and I'll try and find out what's happened to your friend Eprim. And I'll see you there in...oh, how about five days? That should give us enough time, considering the transpacial delay and anything else you may run into."

"Well, goodbye Doctor," said Ian. "Take care of yourself."

"Only if you take care of this lot," the Doctor replied. Both Ian and Barbara seemed capable enough, and he was more than sure that together the five of them would find the next couple of keys without too much hassle. Although, if everywhere else on Marinus was as bad as Morphoton...He tried not to think about it and pointed at Donna. "Especially her. If you see her right hand twitching than get ready to-_JACK_!"

Everyone turned back towards the captain, and Ian turned red at the sight of Captain Jack Harkness and Barbara locked in a deep and passionate embrace. At the Doctor's voice Jack let go of the woman, who stood by his side looking flushed and slightly dizzy, as if she were just as surprised about what had happened as everyone else; except for Jack, of course.

"W-we were just..." Barbara muttered breathlessly, and stumbled back over to Ian.

"Just getting acquainted!" Jack assured everyone.

"_Jack!_" the Doctor finally snapped. "If you can't control your hormones, then you shan't be allowed to have any!"

Jack backed away in terror. "You wouldn't!"

The Doctor crossed his arms and stepped closer, and in a fit of panic the time agent's hand flew to his wrist. He gave the dial a quick turn, and faded away with a triumphant grin. There was a pause.

"He-he..." the Doctor stuttered, and then turned back to his companions. "He keeps doing that!"

Donna rolled her eyes. "Well maybe if you hadn't threatened to take his hormones away..."

Barbara turned toward Rose. "Is it always like this for you?"

"What, getting you mind controlled, travelling through space, and getting snogged whenever there's a chance?" Rose thought about it for a second. "Pretty much, yeah." Barbara gave a stiff nod and Rose turned back towards the Doctor. "Shouldn't we be following him? I mean, 'cause of the transpacial delay and all."

"Right! Yes!" The Doctor ran to where Ian and Barbara were still standing and shook both their hands. "Lovely to meet you both, but I've really gotta go now." He lowered his voice. "Look after them will you?"

Barbara smiled and Ian nodded. "We'll do our best, Doctor."

The Doctor grinned and turned around just in time to catch Rose as she ran into his arms. Despite herself, Donna couldn't help but join the hug, and the Time Lord squeezed them as tightly as possible. Stepping back, he gave one last, cheerful smile, before placing his hand on his wrist. "See you later!"

And then he was gone.

For a moment Rose and Donna stared at the spot where he'd been standing, and Rose reached out and gave her friend's hand a squeeze. Behind them, Ian was getting ready to leave. "Right, we might have improved our chances by splitting our forces, but the sooner we get going, the better."

Everyone nodded and placed their hands on their wrists. "We need to time this right. When I say three, turn your dial. Ready? One, two-

"Wait!" Rose suddenly shouted. "We need to hold hands! The transpacial-"

Too late.

* * *

Across the water and far from the city, in a place that seemed worlds away from the dark and claustrophobic corridors of Morphoton, the darkness continued to stir.

A lone figure, clad in the long, white robes of a monk, stood before his greatest love; staring up at where it hung like an all-seeing, yet broken planet.

He never saw the darkness move.

He never saw the long, black arm which extended towards him as his predator came closer.

And still the darkness' stirring went unnoticed, and Arbitan never saw the sharp dagger held in the clenched fingers of the Voord.

Above him, the last remaining Key of Marinus hung in its proper place, shining in the light and seeing all that Arbitan didn't. But never saying anything.

And so the Key continued to glisten, and Marinus continued to turn, and outside the acidic waves beat mercilessly on the glassy shores before the pyramid, as if they could sense what one man could not; the truth...

Arbitan was doomed.

* * *

**Yes, it's that time again!**

**Weeeeeeeeooooooo!!!!!!**

**Yes, I am humming the Doctor Who theme tune everytime we finish an episode. (2 episodes in! YESSSS!!!!) I'm even worse in real life. Whenever I'm watching it with my mates I actually full-out SING the theme tune. Which is really hard, now that they've changed it to something that's pretty much un-singable.**

**Oops, promised myself I wouldn't express any opinions I have of the new season on this fic. This is Marinus-land, not Moffat-land... *roar***

**Wite the feme tune, sing the feme tune...**

**Also, just as a note, I've been keeping myself from putting in that line about Jack's hormones from day one. Can't help it; I've just always wanted to stick it in a fic. :D**


	22. The Screaming Jungle Part 1

**A/N: Hello! How is everyone? Sorry this chapter's taken so long, I haven't had much time to write recently. The worst thing is, I keep getting great ideas for fics, and when that happens I really want to give that a go instead of doing this. :(**

**But good news; the amazing KittyKatZorse has found a gorgeous piece of fan art of the opening scene from the original Keys of Marinus! For anyone who wants a look, I'm posting the link to the bottom of my profile. The artist who made it also has some other scenes from Keys, and he's told me he's making some more, (Including one of the Morpho! I can't wait :D) but this one's definitely my favourite. Check it out!**

**And finally, for an exciting bit of personal news, I went down to my town's second hand bookstore, and guess what I found? A _huge_ pile of classic Doctor Who novelizations! Needless to say, I had a spasm of complete joy and proceeded to raid said pile for whatever I could find. Didn't have much money on my at the time, but I managed to purchase two of my favourite of all time: The Romans, and The Curse of Peladon! Romans for the sheer hilarity of Nero trying to get Barbara to snog him, and Curse of Peladon for the sole reason that I just happen to be the only person in the whole wide world who ships Jo and Peladon. I can't help it! They're just _so_ perfect for each other...Why did she have to leave him and marry that stupid hippy? WHY? *M&M is carted off to a place where she can scream in peace, leaving her dumbfounded readers to write the rest of the fic by themselves.***

**~M&M**

SciFiGeek14: I know what you mean about Rose's reaction to the Doctor leaving her :( I noticed it too, and was sort of kicking myself after posting the last chapter. By the time I was finished I was pretty sick of that chapter, since it took so long, so I think I really just wanted to get it over with. Sorry about that :S Just remember, at the end of the day it's William's fault, not mine :D

Jasper winked: Aw I know, Ian and Barbara are _lovely_! They're a really rare type of character that absolutely I love, that are amazing simply because the actors playing them are terrific, and I based my portrayal of them on how they were originally performed. Ergo; awesomeness! And yes, all is not well in Arbitan-land :S Suspense and scary music abound! Hooray!

KittyKatZorse: Oh, I know; when you read it all together it is rather fab, isn't it? I'm being egotistical again, aren't I? I'll stop now. :D

Laura Harkness: It's been a bit crazy actually, review-wise. I'm _so_ pleased that so many people seem to be enjoying this, but what's made me happiest of all is the fact that I've got both new and classic fans reading this, which I think is great! And wow, I'm still learning so many things through writing fanfiction. This has been the one fic I've been writing non-stop for a long (ish) time now, so it's been a huge part of me maturing as a writer. (I actually cringe a bit when I go back and look at my earlier work!) You? Partial to _Jack_, of all people? Honestly, I hadn't noticed! ...Sorry, I'm in a slightly sarcastic mood today. :) I know, the last few chapters have been pretty centred around Rose, but now that we're on the Screaming Jungle I'm going to start moving on...and for this episode I get to shove two characters into the limelight, and you can probably guess who one of them is! (I'll give you a hint, it's _not_ Rose!) I can't wait; I _love_ writing for Jack! Argh! Sorry, I honestly hadn't noticed that pattern from the past chapter! I think by then I was starting to get a bit tired of the Velvet Web, and therefore, by the time that chapter was all typed up, I just wanted to get on with it. But when I get a moment, I'm definitely going back to edit that chapter a bit, and make the language a bit smoother. Thanks for pointing that out!

Thanks so much for the reviews, everyone!

* * *

Rose gave a gasp as she faded back into existence, and immediately shook off her sweater, tying it around her waist as she looked around. In contrast to the cold, empty corridors of Morphoton, this new place was so hot that she was already sweating, and was brimming with vibrant colour and life. She was in the middle of some sort of tropical jungle. Around her long, flowering vines cascaded through the thick tree branches, framing the endless landscape of flora, and above her the sunlight filtered down through the leaves, casting a warm, green glow on the rainforest floor. To her left, her view was obstructed by a tall, metal wall, which was cool to touch, and seemed out of place in such a remote area, but was a sure sign of some sort of civilization.

She walked along the edge of the wall, running her hand across the metal surface, and looking around from time to time, hoping to catch the others when they materialized. Her search was cut short however, when her foot was caught by some unseen snare, and she fell to the ground with a soft thump and an "Oof!"

Rose sat up, and glared at the thin vine that had managed to wrap itself around her ankle. She leaned forward, and was about to attempt to pry it off when she froze. Across the jungle came a voice; at first only echoing through the trees as a soft whisper, but quickly building momentum as it grew in volume. It pushed itself through her ears, finally becoming a thousand screams, all crying out in rage, and she clasped her hands over her her ears in fright. She couldn't help it...the sound of those screams brought back the memory of the Mesmeron, of lights flashing before her eyes; blinding her while the Morpho screamed her to sleep...

"Stop it!" She whimpered. When the screams did not cease she curled in on herself and screamed. "_Stop it! _Go away!"

Her voice echoed back through the twisted vines of the jungle, and she heard footsteps coming towards her. A few moments later, she felt someone grab her by the shoulders, and she pulled back with a yell.

"Rose!" Ian was closer than ever before, and she felt some of the old feelings from Morphoton surfacing. "Whatever's the matter?"

She slipped out of his grasp. "We can't stay here!" she blurted out.

"Rose, what-" He cut himself off when she stopped yelling, and looked around, still shaking from the invisible assault.

"It's stopped."

Beside her, Ian gave the jungle a sweeping look. "What did you see?"

"You...didn't hear it?" When all she was rewarded with was a puzzled frown, she continued. "There was this screaming, sort of like the Mesmeron, only without that weird light." She tried not to slap herself. Did Ian even know about the Mesmeron? She hadn't seen anyone explain it to either him or Barbara.

But Ian gave his head a quick shake, confirming that he understood what she meant. "But we're out of Morphoton now. The Morpho can't hurt you, Rose. Perhaps it was some sort of animal?" When she gave a numb nod he knelt down to her level and reached out to grab her arm and help her up.

Rose shifted back in surprise, and bit her lip out of embarrassment. She felt her eyes drop to the ground. "Sorry. Sorry, Ian, it's just..." She waved her hands about in front of her face, trying to convey what was going through her head, and expecting to only confuse her companion even more.

But Ian sternly pushed her wrists back down to her sides, purposefully not wrapping his fingers around them in order to avoid scaring her. "Yes, well I suppose we had better talk about this."

She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, letting her hands drop away from his. He continued. "I want to apologize for what happened back in the city. You must know that I didn't mean to attack you."

"I do," Rose replied quickly, making eye contact with him. "It was just all a bit scary, you know?"

"I'm just glad Barbara was there to protect you."

"Even if she did knock you out."

"Even if she did." He chuckled at looked down at her ankle, which was still caught in the vine. "Let's concentrate on getting you out of this, shall we? The others should be appearing soon."

He began untying Rose's ankle, and she couldn't help but stare at him for a moment. A question was bubbling up inside of her, and she knew a certain redhead would kill her if she didn't take advantage of this opportunity. She opened her mouth before she could stop herself.

"So, are you two..." Ian gave her a confused look, and Rose grinned cheekily, tongue poking through her teeth. "You know..."

The look on his face were priceless. "Me and Barbara? Oh no, we're...we'll, we're certainly not..." Rose raised an eyebrow. He looked back down at her ankle and mumbled, "What I mean is...well, _she's_ not. We're just..."

Rose blinked. "Oh," she said softly, cheeks reddening in the forest's dim light as she realized what he meant. Neither of them said anything for a while after that, until the vines fell away from her ankle and Ian shakily helped her to her feet.

"Better?"

Rose rotated her ankle and beamed at him. "Lovely, thanks!"

"Well, it was my pleasure."

"I figure that makes up for you attacking me." He returned her grin, and was about to reply, when two voices broke through the savage heat of the jungle.

"Ian?"

"Rose!" Before they could respond, Donna Noble came charging through the jungle-life, storming with anger and turning slightly red from the heat. "Where the hell have you been? We've been searching _everywhere_ for you!" Barbara appeared a few moments later; looking just as worried and out of breath, but not nearly as dishevelled as Donna.

Rose snorted. "You sound like my mum."

Ian and Barbara grinned at each other, and Donna instantly turned on them, pointing a finger at Ian and bellowing, "And don't think you're completely innocent either! She," Here Donna pointed at the raven-haired woman by Ian's side. "Was getting herself in a right state, she was so worried!" Barbara stopped smiling and went silent.

As she yelled Rose gave a frown, walked closer, and picked a small leaf out of Donna's hair. Various leaves and twigs were scattered through her tangled, fiery mane of hair. "What happened to you?"

"She fell in a bush," Barbara remarked, as if it were the most common thing in the world.

Donna crossed her arms in defiance. "Jack pushed me."

Both Rose and Ian stared at their companion. There was a brief pause, and then Ian spoke. "I'm sorry?"

"Oh!" Barbara looked at Donna, who sniffed sheepishly. "We forgot to tell you. We found Jack."

"And...where is he now?" Rose asked.

"How should I know?" Donna combed her fingers through her hair in a slightly spastic attempt to get rid of any evidence of Jack's apparent assault. "He ran up to us, pushed me in a bush, and then buggered off shouting that he'd found something!"

"He _did_ seem quite excited." Barbara added.

"So what you're saying," Rose began. "Is that somewhere in this jungle there's a sex-driven time agent, wearing only a toga and a couple of water wings, who's running around and pushing people into bushes?" Donna and Barbara nodded. "Well then, we'd better find him before he does anything drastic."

Ian stepped forward. "Sounds like a good enough plan. Could you two show us where you last saw him?" The girls nodded and began to lead their companions to the spot where they'd materialized. Still slightly shaky from what had happened to her when she'd first arrived, Rose stayed where she was and looked back at the jungle, half expecting some, large, screaming animal to come bounding after them. Noticing what the she was doing, Ian guided her away from where she stood, giving her shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze. It didn't do much to calm her nerves, but she shook herself and gave Ian a tight smile before following the others.

They had only been walking for a few moments, however, when the bushes in front of them shuddered wildly, and Jack leaped out in front of the four friends; still clad in his toga and water wings, and smiling widely.

"I found you! There's-" But before Jack could tell them anything, Donna's hand whipped out like lightening, and a deafening _crack_ echoed through the jungle. He suddenly found himself sprawled out on the ground in front of them with a shocked expression on his face and a red mark on his cheek in the shape of a hand.

Amid the confusion that followed, Rose didn't miss the smug look that momentarily made its way on to Ian's face. She rolled her eyes, fought her way to the front of the queue, and helped a shaky Jack to his feet. "You okay?"

He glared at Donna. "You hit me!"

"You shoved me into a bush!"

"You _never_ hit me!"

"Yeah, well Spaceman's gone, and I was getting bored."

"You're insane!"

"You're ugly."

Jack went silent after that. He'd never been told that before, and honestly didn't know how to respond. Ian cleared his throat. "You said you had something to show us?"

The time agent smiled slowly. "C'mere." He ran off into the woods, and everyone followed, stumbling and half-blinded by the heat. They ran along the wall, only pausing when Donna flattened herself against it, trying to cool herself against its metal surface. It took both Rose and Barbara to peel her aways from her haven, and after a bit of shouting and a lot more thrashing than anyone thought was necessary, the five travellers continued on their way.

As the wall continued however, it became obvious that using it as a means of cooling off wouldn't continue for very long. Here and there the metal surface was interrupted by a large slab of stone. As they continued, these sections of the wall became more and more frequent, and before long they found themselves walking beside what looked like the ruins of a great, stone fortress.

"It's the last remains of a temple," stated Barbara. "There's always been evidence that these forests once held some sort of civilization, but it died out many millennia ago."

"And someone's fixed the broken sections by adding metal?" Jack asked.

Barbara nodded. "Do you suppose anyone could be inside?"

Jack just smirked. "Doesn't matter. We don't have to stay here much longer." He gestured to a spot in the now completely stone wall, which was covered by a curtain of vines and branches. Jack swept the curtain away, only to reveal a large archway which protruded into the side of the ruins; a dark and lifeless tunnel that seemed just as out of place amidst the life and colour of the jungle as the metallic wall.

Inside the tunnel they could just make out a large, stone figure; that of some sort of idol, which crouched at the end of the corridor with long, bared fangs. It's large eyes stared at them through the darkness, and twisted, clawed hands stretched towards them in silent greeting. What caught their attention however, wasn't the statue itself, but what lay on top of it.

Atop the statue's head, sitting in the centre of its rather extravagant headdress, something clearly glistened in the dim light. It was small and transparent, and while that was all the travellers could make out through the darkness of the tunnel, they all knew what Jack had found.

It was one of the keys of Marinus.

"Well," Donna piped up cheerfully. "That was easy."

* * *

**Yeah, I know, still quite a bit of Rose in this chapter. I wanted to move on from her, but I really thought I should give her and Ian a moment, just so they could sort everything out between them. Will hopefully be moving on properly in the next chapter!**


	23. The Screaming Jungle Part 2

**A/N: Hello everybody! Again...**

**So, good news! I am _not_ dead! Hooray! Sorry about the lack of updating, I had to finish up a project about a bunch of terms which, (According to the internet) only exist in my English teacher's head. And that was _very_ fun. Plus, I wasn't quite sure of how I was going to write this scene. But then I woke up this morning, and it all just seemed so obvious. And fun, actually, since I had a lovely time writing this chapter!**

**Anyway, (And here goes my inconsistent, personal, rambling that no one really cares about) I was online in the magical world of youtube today, and I found the trailer for the DVD release of The Keys of Marinus! Of course, it was released a while ago, but the trailer is _amazing_! It's all epic and suspenseful and lovely, and it was like watching a trailer for an action movie. I might have shed a tear whilst watching it. Or not. I'll leave that up to you to decide. So in case anyone wants to see it, I'm posting the link to the trailer at the bottom of my profile, plus a link to the original episode, in case anyone wants to take a look. I'll warn you, it's _very_ different from my version, but it's still very recognizable as the same story I've been retelling, and definitely worth a try!**

**~M&M**

KittyKatZorse: The original is on youtube! I've posted the link on my profile, and I know, it's _very_ old, and not everyone really has the patience to sit through the black and white episodes (One of my friends who I got into Classic Who just skipped the first Doctors and went straight to Pertwee) but it's there if you fancy having a look.

Jasper winked: Aww thank you! Ironically, I thought the bit where Donna called Jack ugly was the weakest moment in that chapter, and I only let it stay because I couldn't think of anything else to put there, but I'm glad someone enjoyed it! :D And YES I _loved_ writing the bit where Rose and Ian had a bit of a chat. It actually came quite naturally, and now I've fairly stuck on the idea of them as BFFs. I can just see them wearing matching sweaters, going waterskiing together, and driving across England in a beat up Model T. *Pause* I think I need to go write a fic.

Laura Harkness: Thank you! I put quite a bit of effort into that paragraph, and I'm delighted someone noticed! And as for Donna...well I'm quite happy to ignore the physics behind her Jack attack. Girl power, and all that!

SciFiGeek14: Haha they're amazing! Can't wait for the next few chapters; I'm singling them out so I can write a few scenes where it's just them. Going to be a right larf. Hopefully.

* * *

The five friends continued to stare down the long passage that led to the key. Donna shifted a little bit closer; or at least, as close as she could get while they were all crammed into the opening. "Why don't we just go and get it?"

Ian opened his mouth to say something, but Barbara interrupted him. "That's a good question. Why don't we just go and get it?"

"It's a _really_ good question," Rose mumbled before turning towards Jack. "Why didn't you get it before coming to us?"

He nodded towards the key in response. "It just seems a bit too obvious, doesn't it? I mean, you had to go through all that stuff at Morphoton just to get one key, so I doubt it'll be as easy as strolling up to the statue and picking it up."

"Could there be, I dunno, booby traps or something?" Jack nodded yes, and Rose turned back to face the other three. "He says-"

"We heard him," Donna cut in before looking back at the key. "You know what? If the Doctor was here, we wouldn't just be standing around talking." And then she gave a deep breath and a slightly insane grin, and that was the only warning the others had before she stepped into the tunnel.

"No!" everyone seemed to shout at the same time, shifting a foot or two inside the ruins to try and stop her.

Rose reached out to her friend, eyes wide, and feeling more than slightly panicked. "Donna! J-just take my hand and come back, yeah?"

Donna looked back at her with a sweet smile. "Nope. I'm fine here."

Ian joined in the protest. "But this whole place could be rigged with traps!"

"Well then I'll be careful!" Donna huffed. "If you see something funny happen, then just tell me and I'll duck!"

"You'll...duck." Barbara stated, as if she was still trying to believe this was actually happening.

Donna nodded again, and turned walked a few more steps towards the statue. Everyone instinctively screamed at her.

"Donna, get back here _right now_!" Rose's voice had become dangerously high, and she was seriously considering risking her own life and running in there to get Donna back.

"You'll get decapitated, or eaten or...squashed!" Jack chipped in. "Have you even _seen_ Indiana Jones?"

This stopped Donna about halfway down the tunnel. She thought about it for a moment, and then quickly shook her head.

There was a pause, and both Rose and Jack stared at her in shock. "You've...never seen...Indiana Jones."

"That's nothing," Rose mumbled to him, staring at the ground as if she was hiding the most shameful of all secrets. "She's never seen Star Wars either."

Jack stared at Donna for a moment, took a deep breath, and then screamed, "YOU'VE NEVER SEEN STAR WARS?"

"But it's about _space_!" Donna moaned back.

"But-but it's...that's not an excuse! It's _Star Wars_! It's got Han Solo and...and-"

Rose cut him off. "You only like it 'cause you think Harrison Ford is-"

"I am _not_ talking about this right now!" Donna continued to walk down the passageway. Everyone moaned, with the exception of Ian and Barbara, who both looked completely lost.

"Right," Jack mumbled, tightening his water wings and stepping closer. "I'm going in to get her."

"No!" Everyone turned to look at Ian, who was also preparing to enter the tunnel. "You stay here. I'll do it." Rose and Barbara exchanged exasperated looks, before continuing to scream at Donna to come back.

"One of us going in there could set anything off, and I can't die, so-"

"Wait, what?" Barbara stopped calling out to Donna and stared at the time agent. "You can't _die_?"

"Oh." There was another pause. "Yes. There was this battle, and erm, Rose was sort of..." His voice trailed off, and he waved his hands about helplessly before giving a last mumble of, "Daleks..."

"I'm here!" Everyone looked back to the passage, where Donna was waving merrily from directly in front of the statue.

Rose waved back meekly. "Be careful, yeah?"

Donna gave her a thumbs up, and began to climb on to the lap of the statue in order to reach the key. At the entranceway, everyone held their breath. If the tunnel had been booby trapped, then something would have happened by now, wouldn't it? Still, the travellers couldn't help but feel concerned for their friend, especially when Donna's first few attempts to climb into the idol's lap were unsuccessful.

After Donna fell to the ground for the fifth time, Ian finally spoke. "Can you manage?"

Wrapping her fingers around its outstretched arms, Donna finally managed to climb into it's lap. She grinned back at her companions. "Nope, I've got it!" Brimming with egotism, and feeling more than a little proud, she stood on her tip-toes and plucked the key from its place atop the statue's head. But as her fingers closed around the glass prism, there was a loud grinding noise, and she froze.

The next few seconds, Rose decided, seemed to happen in slow motion. She saw Donna's hand cautiously withdraw from the idol's headdress as the woman pulled the micro-circuit down to chest level. Having heard the strange grinding, which echoed menacingly through the tunnel, she turned back to look at her friends; mouth open, about to ask them what was happening. And then there was movement. The clawed, beastly arms of the statue jerked to life, stiffly moving inward and tightly wrapping around Donna's legs.

Everyone screamed, including Donna, who kicked furiously in an attempt to escape. But the stone arms would not let go, and after a moment of sheer panic, there was even more movement when the entire platform the statue was on swivelled on its axis; turning like the walls at Arbitan's pyramid, and dragging their friend to the other side of the wall.

Despite the darkness, they could clearly see Donna's terrified face, and there was a vicious scream of, "SPACEMAAAAAAAA-" before the turning doorway clicked shut, and the thick, stone walls of the temple cut Donna off.

* * *

**This chapter is dedicated to my _amazing_ ex-chemistry teacher. (Um hello, if you're reading this. Just to let you know, I did not nearly fail your chemistry class because I was writing fanfiction. I was just really, _really_ bad at science.) She once tried to explain the magnetism between two particles to my class by using the forces drawing Harrison Ford and her together as an example. She has framed pictures of him on her desk, and on every open night she brings out her life-sized cardboard cut-out of him. She even makes him wear his own lab coat. I love her.**

**And that's not the only inspiration that found its way into this chapter. Catherine Tate has never seen Star Wars. Seriously. I've heard the interview where David Tennant finds out. It's _hilarious_. They talk about how Doctor Who fans smell like marmite and-I'm rambling again, aren't I? Sorry, I'll shut up now.**

**I love marmite.**


	24. The Screaming Jungle Part 3

**A/N: Guess what? I am finished every single annoying project I have to do this year. And wow I am _so _happy! I've still got exams to go, but I decided I didn't care, I just _had_ to celebrate by having a good write. And _wow_ it was a great idea! Because I'm super pleased about how this chapter turned out! But ugh not so happy. I was working all evening, so by the time I got home my little brother had gone to bed, so unless I want to watch it all by my lonesome I'l have to wait until tomorrow to watch The Pandorica Opens. So no spoilers in the reviews _please_! (Arrrgh same thing happened with Waters of Mars.) Anyway, sorry for the wait everyone! (And while I'm at it, another HUGE sorry for anyone who's stories I haven't been reviewing. I honestly haven't been on this site in _ages_! Anyway, (again...) I really hope everyone enjoys this chapter, because I had an amazing time writing it!**

SciFiGeek14: Haha it's seriously the best interview _ever_. I mean it. Hopefully you've managed to track it down by now...but if you're still looking for it I'm pretty sure it's called Chain Reaction. And oh my gosh, Chris. I still find it hard to believe he'd never really watched it; his portrayal of the Doctor was so amazing! Although...I suppose that makes sense, since his Doctor was really different from the others.

KittyKatZorse: Oops not so much updating soon. :S But hopefully this chapter's epic awesomeness makes up for my absence. *Crosses fingers* Okay, this is really, really out of the blue, but can I just say that your username is the most random thing ever? Seriously, I have no idea what it means :D Just thought I'd throw that out there. Sorry; it's two in the morning You can probably tell, can't you?

Jasper winked: Aww evil century-long cliff hanger, sorry! Hopefully the chapter's extreme epicness will make up for the wait. :S But thanks for the review! It sounds strange, but that moment when Donna gets erm, stolen by the statue was the first moment I ever imagined for this fic while watching the original, so it was quite special finally typing that bit up. And I _so_ agree, Donna calling for the Doctor is rather tragic.

Thank yoooooou!

* * *

"Donna!" Despite herself, Rose broke away from the group and ran into the tunnel. Behind her, Jack desperately tried to grab the blonde, but only ended up following her into the darkness when all he caught was empty air.

"Stay there!" he yelled back to Ian and Barbara. "I'll get her!"

He ran to the end of the tunnel, where Rose was pushing against the wall with the palms of her hands. But by now the smooth, stone surface which had taken the statue's place wouldn't budge. She turned around and stared at him defiantly. "I'm not going back!"

He snorted. "I kinda got that. You found anything?"

She turned back to the wall and continued to push, gasping out words in fragments between pushes. "I didn't know...I was...meant to be...looking for...something."

She gasped and pulled back from the wall, shooting it a glare. Jack approached, and ran his fingers over the stone. "I meant cracks. Breaks in the wall. A hidden spring, that sorta stuff."

"Couldn't see. Too busy pushing." As if to emphasize her point, Rose kicked the wall in frustration. Nothing happened. Unable to think of anything else, she placed her back against it, dug her heels into the ground and gave another push.

The American frowned. "You're gonna hurt yourself." Rose didn't stop. He groaned, trying to think of any other way to get through the wall. His blaster was back in Morphoton, so he couldn't exactly blow it up. But if they didn't get through soon, anything could happen to Donna. Or Rose, for that matter. He could see the physical strain was beginning to affect her, and the thick, hot air that filled the tunnel wasn't helping matters. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away. "C'mon!"

"No! I gotta..." Rose was shaking from fatigue, and gasping from the heat, but she was still staring at the wall in determination. "I gotta save her!"

"We'll get her. Don't worry."

"How do you know?"

He swallowed. "We just will. But first I think you should rest for a sec, okay?" She nodded numbly. "And no more pushing. Won't do anything. We'll find a better way through."

"And what's that?"

"I'm...working on it."

She sighed, and they stared at the wall for a few seconds. "What do you think's in there?"

"Something." Rose sent Jack a look, as if to say, _Yeah, that helps_. He shrugged. "Whatever it is, I doubt it's as scary as Donna."

Rose couldn't help but smile. "There's not much that's as scary as Donna."

Jack sniggered. "Sometimes I'm just glad she's on our side."

Rose laughed and grabbed his hand. "Imagine if she was working for the daleks or something? We'd be dead!"

They laughed for a second, and then remembered that the person they were joking about could be in serious trouble, and sobered up. Jack gave Rose's hand a squeeze and, looking up at the stone wall, mumbled to himself, "_Very_ scary."

A few moments passed, then Rose gave another giggle and grinned guiltily. "But you know what the scariest thing is?"

He shrugged. "Surprise me."

"What the Doctor's going to do to you when he finds out you lost Donna."

Jack went pale.

* * *

"Right, one, two, three, _push_!" The two companions threw themselves against the wall, struggling to move it for a few seconds before giving up. This was their fourth try, and they were starting to lose their initial momentum. They slid to the ground in defeat.

"You're telling him," Jack managed to pant out.

"No way! This is all your fault. It's your job."

"You're the one who brought up Star Wars! If it hadn't of been for that then I would have gotten to her in time."

"You're the one who got sidetracked by telling Ian and Barbara your life story!"

"More like death story," Jack muttered, and then shook himself. "You're still telling him."

"Why's that?"

"Because you're his favourite."

Rose gaped. "I am not!"

"You are! Remember when we were at that marketplace near Betelgeuse? Remember that? Who did the Doctor buy that sapphire necklace for?" Jack pointed a finger at the blonde and silently mouthed, '_You_'.

Rose gave a gasp of disbelief and sarcastically stated, "Yeah, cause no one else got anything that day! He bought you an ice cream sandwich!"

"But I wanted the necklace!" Jack moaned.

"Well _I_ wanted the sandwich!" Rose snapped back.

They fell silent for a few seconds, arms crossed and refusing to look at each other. Finally, Jack sniffed. "Donna didn't get anything that day."

Rose's eyes widened, instantly understanding what he was getting at. "Oh no."

"I mean, absolutely _nothing_!"

"Jack-"

"So would he really mind if we didn't-"

"_No!_" Rose gripped the dirt beneath her fingers in frustration. "I'm not leaving her."

A moment passed. Jack nodded. "I know. I'm not either."

They smiled at each other. "Was it good ice cream?" Rose ventured slowly.

Jack nodded eagerly. "Awesome. It was marmite flavoured." Rose laughed, and began to absently comb her fingers through the dirt, but froze when her hand hit something familiar.

"Jack..."

"Or at least, I think it was marmite. Tasted a bit meaty."

"Jack."

"More like bovril than anything else. I would have preferred marmite."

"Jack!"

He turned to look at her, and she smiled. "What?"

Her smile widened. "I've got something better than bovril ice cream."

"I doubt it. What is it?" Smile now reaching it's full potential, Rose raised a dirt streaked fist, letting him see what she held. Squeezed between her fingers were pieces of gravel, clumps of dark soil, and a small glass prism, which managed to glitter despite the darkness of the tunnel. It was the key.

* * *

"I'm going to the market," Ian said slowly, the gears in his mind turning at an incredibly fast pace. Barbara nodded in encouragement. "And I'm buying...absolutism, biodegradable substances, capitalism, dysprosium, existentialism, friction, geocentricism, a hydroscope, individualism, some fellow named Justin, kathenotheism, lithium, materialism, nidology, objectivism and..." After a moment of thought he shuffled his hands proudly and grinned. "Paranoia. Right, your turn."

Barbara sighed. "I'm going to the market, and I'm buying..." She trailed off, however, when two figures emerged from the ruins. "Over here!"

Rose and Jack ran to where they sat, gasping for breath and looking considerably more red in the face than when Ian and Barbara had last seen them. Rose reached them first. "No sign of her."

Jack bounded up from behind her, practically skipping. "But at least we got the micro-key! Donna must have dropped it when the statue was turning."

Rose shook her head, leaning over and breathing in deeply now that the air was no longer so thick and dry. "Don't matter. Only thing that matters is getting Donna out of there."

Barbara stood up. "Well, first we'll need to find a way through that wall. Did you see any way-"

"No." Jack replied. "But first thing's first. I think you should take the micro-key, Barbara. Keep it with the other, and keep it safe."

Barbara gave a stiff nod before taking the key from Jack's outstretched hand and threading it on to her necklace alongside the one from Morphoton. "Look, I don't want to raise false hopes, but perhaps things aren't as bad as they seem."

"What?" Rose gasped out breathlessly.

"Well, Donna was wearing her travel dial, wasn't she? And that idol never seemed to actually injure her, so as long as nothing hurt her on the other side, she'd have been able to escape whenever she wanted."

"Oh..." Rose whimpered. "Shame the Doctor isn't here. He'd practically be kissing you about now."

"Or giving you bovril ice cream," Jack cut in. "It's a good idea. But...well, you know Donna."

There was an awkward pause. "Yeah," replied Rose. "She's a bit..."

Jack nodded. "Just a bit."

Ian joined in. "But by now even she must have thought of it. But she might not have taken advantage of it yet. Anything might have happened to her."

"But if she was in danger she'd have to use her travel dial," Barbara said.

"Unless it was too late." Everyone looked at Jack. Rose raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking-" Suddenly, Jack's thoughts were cut off by a familiar grinding sound, and the four friends rushed to the tunnel's entrance, sweeping the curtain of vines away just in time to see the wall turning once again. After a few moments of continual grinding they found themselves looking once again at the same statue Donna had disappeared with, only this time its arms were empty.

Rose swallowed. "Its arms are open. It's waiting for its next victim."

Jack stepped forward. "Means it either released her, or she's escaped. But if she's hurt..." He and Rose exchanged looks.

"But if she used her travel dial," added Ian. "and went on to the next place, who knows what dangers could be waiting for her there?"

"So what you're saying is that we need to cover all possibilities?" Ian nodded, and Jack turned back to look at the blonde at his side. "Rose, you said it looked like it was waiting for its next victim?"

"Yeah. What of it?"

He waved at her. "Hello."

"No."

"Yes.

"_No!_"

"Yes and a tub of bovril."

"No and that awful aftertaste bovril gives you. I'm coming too!"

"I can manage, Rosie. Plus, I need you to go with Ian and Barbara, and cover the next destination." He cupped her cheek in his hand. "I'll find her. And if she's not there, then I'll come straight to the next place and find you, okay?"

She put a trembling hand over his. "Be careful, yeah?"

"Course."

"Then there's no second to waste!" Ian walked away from the tunnel and checked to make sure his wristband was ready to go. "Are we all ready?"

"Hold on," came the reply, and everyone turned to look at Barbara, who was staring at the micro-key in confusion. "I...I don't think this is it!"

Everyone instantly grouped around her palm, looking closely at the key. Jack spoke first. "What?"

"It's just an imitation! Look-this edge is a fraction shorter. And all the keys are identical, so this _must _be a copy."

Rose sighed. "Then we're no further ahead then when we first got here. All we've managed to do is lose somebody." She sighed unhappily. She missed the Doctor.

Barbara looked up at Jack. "We'll stay with you."

"No," He shook his head. "We can't keep making mistakes. We've only got five days to meet up with the Doctor, remember? I'll find Donna, I'll find the _real_ micro-key, and you can work at finding the micro-key in the next place. That way we can get back to the Doctor quicker."

"You're quite sure?"

"Positive."

Suddenly, something occurred to Rose. She gave Ian a hesitant look, and walked over to the American. "Jack, I think there's something else going on here."

"What do you mean?"

"When I first got here, there was this...screaming. Ian and I decided I was probably some sort of animal, but we haven't seen a single living thing since we got here. And the screaming...it was like something I've never really heard before. It was like something evil."

"Right, something evil. Check." Jack grinned. "I'll be fine, Rosie."

She smiled. "I know. But be careful, yeah?"

"Definitely."

Rose grinned and stepped back, linking hands with Ian and Barbara, who waved goodbye. "We'll see you later."

Wait!" Jack suddenly rushed forward to the trio and, wasting little time, he lay a hand on Rose's cheek, and leaned down to planted a sweet, friendly kiss on her lips. "Now, _that_ is how you say goodbye to someone. None of that see you later crap you had to put up with from the Doctor."

Rose laughed and and offered him a quick wink. "See you later."

He grinned back and gave Ian the thumbs up. Just as Ian began to reach for his travel dial, however, Rose went rigid. For a moment she stood there, letting the realization sink in, and then she licked her lips, confirming what she suspected. She turned her gaze to Jack. "You...you did that on purpose!"

He laughed, and her voice rose in both pitch and volume. "Now I'm gonna have that taste in my mouth all bloody-"

Ian turned the dial.

Jack stood there for a moment, grinning to himself proudly. Then, turning back to the tunnel, he licked the last traces of bovril from his lips and ran into the dark depths of the ruins, climbing into the statue's lap and letting it take him wherever it wanted.

* * *

**I rather like reviews. That's all I'm saying.**

**Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to Colin Baker! It was his birthday a week or two ago. I got quite a buzz off of dedicating my last chapter to someone, so I decided to continue with it. I like to think that it gives my fics a sense of purpose. And I'm not yet on Colin's episodes (Still battling my way through Tom's last season) but I think I might have a bit of a crush on him. And I'm not quite sure what to think of that. Anyway, this is my way of saying, "Colin, if this chapter goes completely down the drain, and no one ever reads this fic again, and I'm basically regarded as the worst fanfiction author in existence, and Terry Nation's ghost comes back to haunt me, it's all your fault."**

**Oh, and if anyone's wondering about what the heck Ian and Barbara are doing about halfway through, they're playing a game where you say "I'm going to the market, and I'm going to buy..." and you say something beginning with A. Then the next person says the same thing, only they add on something beginning with B. And then the next person says the same thing, only adding something beginning with C. And the game goes on and on all through the alphabet until some poor sod has to remember 26 things he's buying at the market. And it's especially hard if you're playing with Ian and Barbara, because they're both teachers, and are therefore super smart. This is the way my mind works. I think it explains a lot. Anyway, just thought I'd clear that up and explain it for anyone reading this without a life.**


	25. The Screaming Jungle Part 4

**A/N: The good news? I done all my exams! The bad news? I'm writing again. Awful, I know. But seriously, I'm finally finished school for the summer, which I means I can finally have a life again! Hooray! I've got about a thousand fics to catch up on, (And I _will_ be catching up on them all) and another fic that really, _really_ needs to be updated. I've kind of made Marinus my first priority, so all my other stuff's kind of suffered. :D Anyway, sorry again about the wait, people. It won't happen again...I think. I was so determined to get this chapter out that I was typing it up at school in between exams. (Although that might have been due to my inability to study.) And guess what happened while I was typing said fic? We had an earthquake! Seriously, an actual _earthquake!_ You can tell I live in Canada, because everyone's more excited than concerned. And yes, I will be bragged about this for a while.**

**~M&M**

SciFiGeek14: I LOVE the ABC game! Seriously, it's the only way to get through family road trips. (I haven't been blessed with a lacrosse team like you have.) Thanks!

KittyKatZorse: Yay! Glad you like it! Aw and I just looked zorses up (Yes, I did stare blankly at my screen for a few seconds after your review.) and they're lovely! Sorry, I think it might have been about 2 in the morning when I asked you about that. Won't happen again. I think. ;)

Jasper winked: The whole arguing-over-something-that-honestly-isn't-relevent seems to be a theme in this fic, doesn't it? Or at least, it is for the last few chapters. But I don't care; it's fun to write! And oooh the screaming is rather creepy! :S Thanks for the good luck! It's all over now but I like to think it helped! Sort of.

Thanks _so_ much to the reviews everyone!

* * *

On the opposite side of the wall, Jack slid from the idol's lap the moment its stone hands released him. As he landed on the ground with a thump, his hand instinctively fell to his hip, but paused when he remembered he still didn't have his blaster. He looked around the new landscape cautiously, wondering if he'd need it.

He was still in the jungle. Sure, he didn't exactly want to be staring into the face of danger right about now, but he had expected something a little more...dramatic. That said, on second glance, this side of the wall seemed different. Some of the trees surrounding him had been sawn off to make room for a wide, cobbled path, which stretched off in various directions, disappearing into the hot blur that encompassed the plant life. Around him the ground was barer, and it felt less like a jungle and more like a particularly hot and overgrown garden. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he began to walk on, but stopped in his tracks when he realized what else was different.

Scattered through the shapes of the trees and along the edges of the pathway were some of the strangest objects, littering the ground like odd lawn decorations. Beside him stood several potted plants and a white, marble statue of a child, hands stretched up to the sky in an unmoving dance. A little way down the path, amongst a dozen long, Grecian pillars that reached up to meet the canopy, he could just about make out the figure of a knight. It gleamed in the heat, its hopefully empty armour poised with an enormous axe held over its head, ready to bring the deadly weapon down on its invisible enemy's vulnerable skull at any moment. As he walked past it, he stared into the dark slits of its visor for a moment, unnerved.

Once the knight was behind him, however, he stopped, and stood still for a moment. If he listened...yes! He could hear something. Some sort of psychic whisper, a quick murmuring in the back of his mind. It crept along the jungle towards him, like someone breathing over the tops of the trees. Around him, everything stayed still, but the sound began to grow, becoming louder and louder until it was like breathless scream which he could only hear, as long as he focused on it. He frowned, walking around the clearing and trying to figure out where it was coming from. His eyes landed on a nearby stone wall, which divided him from the rest of the jungle. He rested his hands on its eroded surface, and closed his eyes, trying to find the source.

A few moments passed, and his frown deepened when the sound began to fade away. Suddenly, another sound filled his ears; a coarse growl, like rocks shifting against each other in anticipation, and his eyes shot open in surprise.

"_Jack!_" He turned as quickly as he could to find the source of the voice, and smiled brightly when Donna Noble came bounding out of the bushes at top speed; headed straight for him without any sign of stopping.

"Donna!" He called back happily. "You have _no_ idea how happy I am to-_Oof!_" The redhead hit him with a forceful tackle, which sent them both flying backwards-just as the wall he'd been standing beside gave one loud, final growl and collapsed down on where he'd been loitering obliviously.

Stunned by what had just happened, Jack continued to stumble backwards, letting Donna slip from his grip as he did so. He made eye contact with her. "You saved me!"

She gave a breathless shrug, as if it was nothing to her, and leaned over to catch her breath. "Yeah, just don't expect me to do it again."

He smiled back widely, just happy that the Doctor wouldn't kill him anymore, but froze when his foot unexpectedly sank down into the pavement. His eyes drifted downwards, and he realized that the cobble he'd been standing on had been some sort of button, and him standing on it had initiated whatever it activated. He barely had to think; he swiftly turned where he stood, facing his enemy as he stared up into the dark visor of the knight.

His hand shot out, meeting the metal, empty helmet and knocking it from the knight's shoulders, but he never saw it land. As the helmet crashed to the forest floor, Jack felt himself fall into an all too familiar darkness, and collapsed on the cobbled walkway, a long, wooden axe buried deep in his back.

"I didn't mean it," Donna whispered.

* * *

Jack jerked back to life, gasping deeply. His arms flailed wildly at his sides, desperately grabbing on the the closest thing to him. Unfortunately, this just happened to be Donna's foot, and she lashed out immediately with a sharp kick and shriek before leaping backwards to escape his grip. His hand flew to where she'd kicked him, and he stared up at her.

She looked terrified. Her breath was coming out in sharp rattles, and her hands were shaking uncontrollably. Her fingers were tightly wound around the axe, fresh from being pulled out of his back and dripping with blood.

He calmed his breathing. "So you survived, then."

"No thanks to you!" she instantly snapped back.

Jack rolled his eyes. He should have expected this. He gave a groan, sat up, and looked around at the jungle. The shadows cast across the ground had grown longer, and the felt cooler than before. It felt like the evening. He looked up at Donna. "How long was I out for?"

She looked away sheepishly, and mumbled something out of the corner of her mouth.

"What?"

Donna sniffed. "Two and a half hours..." She trailed off when she saw the look on his face.

"Two and half hours?" He stared at her. "Two. And a half. Hours." His voice grew in volume. "You left that thing in my back for _two and a half hours_?"

"Oh yeah," she yelled back. "Because pulling axes out of people's spines is _exactly_ what I do on a daily basis!"

"You took _forever_, Donna! We've got the rest of the party waiting for us at the next place, and the Doctor _still_ thinking he's going to be seeing us in five days-"

"_I didn't know what to do!_" Her voice was slightly hysterical, and for the first time it occurred to Jack that she might not have left the axe in his back for so long out of pure spite. "Alright?"

He swallowed back his anger and nodded. "Yeah. Okay"

"And it wasn't like I was totally lost. If none of you appeared I was going to turn my dial, and see if I could meet you at the next destination."

"That's what we thought. But I had to come through anyway. That micro-key you found, it was a fake."

"_What?_"

"Babs says it's different than the others. And I'm guessing the real one's somewhere in here."

"Ooh, so we're calling her Babs now, are we? What does Ian think of that?"

He snorted. "Ian doesn't care. And I can call anyone whatever I like."

"Yeah?"

"Uh huh."

In response, Donna drew the axe closer and stared around at the jungle in worry, biting her lip. Instantly understanding what had her so upset, Jack squared his shoulders heroically. "I'll get us out of here."

Had Rose been with him, she would have offered a sympathetic smile and an 'I'm sure you will,' while patting his back, but Donna just raised an eyebrow. "You'd better."

He missed Rose.

Rose missed the Doctor.

And the Doctor missed...well the guy had managed to escape to one of the most civilized societies in the system. Jack doubted he was finding things too difficult. Probably having the time of his life. Donna on the other hand, still looked absolutely terrified, despite her snark. And, quite ironically, he missed her normal self.

He smiled at her, trying to cheer the redhead up. She just stared at him indifferently, as if trying to figure out what he was up to now. A moment passed and then, not letting himself give up, he stepped forward and gave her a friendly hug. She went rigid in his arms. He let go and stepped back. She was still staring at him, eyebrows disappearing into her fringe. Finally, he put his hands on his hips and gave her another smile. "I missed you."

_ There,_ he thought. _If that doesn't cheer her up, nothing will._ A few moments passed, and then, Donna spoke. "I'm gonna go find the micro-key." She turned and walked away, fingers clutching the axe so tightly that they turned white.

Jack just sighed, and looked down at his feet. He sighed again. When he'd hugged Donna, she'd still been holding the axe, which was still covered in his fresh blood. And now his gorgeous, sexy, perfectly white toga was covered with dark red smears.

He missed a lot of things.

* * *

When he finally caught up to her, Donna had come to her senses, and was tossing the axe into the bushes. "There's some sort of a doorway up there," she said, having spotted him. "I tried to get it open while you were unconscious, but it won't budge."

He approached it; a large wooden door on the side of another brick wall. Closer inspection revealed that it was part of a large building, which stretched far back into the bushes. After trying the lock, which didn't move even a bit, he gave the door a kick.

"Tried that,"

He looked over at Donna. "What about-"

"Yup. Tried _everything_."

"Tell ya what. There's another wall over there." Jack pointed across the forest. "You wait here, and I'll check it out, okay? See if I can find anything that'll open it."

Donna nodded. She'd finally calmed down from before, and was ready to cooperate with the time agent. "Be careful. This whole place is one big booby trap. It's all stuff like that wall, just waiting to get us."

"Yeah, cause that's just what I need," Jack sighed, before giving her shoulders a squeeze and carefully making his way towards his target.

* * *

By the time he finally got to the wall, the sun was even lower in what he could make out of the horizon. He stopped by the stone barrier and stared up at it. Across the wall he could just about see the tips of leaves poking through the bricks, and further along whole vines stuck through the gaps. It was as if the entire jungle was pushing against it, trying to get through...

"Jack?" He jumped when Donna's voice came echoing through the trees, and scowled at where he'd come from. Honestly, she hadn't even given him a moment to start searching!

"I'll be there in a bit! Just give me a sec!" There was no reply. He shrugged and began walking along the wall, eventually coming to a small alcove, outlined by an arch. Inside, he could see the sharp glint of metal, and ducked through to investigate. Several tools lay on the ground, and he sifted through them, trying to pick which one would be best for breaking the door down.

Suddenly, a high, terrified shriek came from the doorway, and he looked up in alarm. "Donna!" Grabbing the first thing he could find-a rather large pickaxe-he ran for the alcove's opening, but was pulled back by something. He looked behind him, and groaned in frustration. Connected to the pickaxe, and leading down deep into the ground, was a long, metal chain. He gave a an angry yell, feeling so fed up with everything in this place, and gave the chain a hard yank.

Unfortunately, this only made things worse for the time agent, for the moment he pulled on the tool, a row of metal bars came running down from the ceiling, sticking into the ground in front of him and trapping him in the alcove.

Donna screamed again, this time sounding even more terrified than ever, and Jack yanked the pickaxe as hard as he could, finally pulling it from the ground. He frantically placed it between the bars of his makeshift cells, muscles straining as he pushed with all his might. "I'm coming Donna!"

By the time one of the bars finally gave way, Donna had been quiet for far longer than he was happy with, and he squeezed through the opening he'd made as quickly as possible. Unintentionally letting the pickaxe fall to the ground, he ran for the doorway, screaming Donna's name all the while. When he finally reached it however, his blood ran cold.

The door was open.

He swallowed nervously, terrified at what he'd find when he entered, and then dashed through the opening. Inside, it was cooler, but he barely stopped to admire the temperature as he ran through the building's tunnels, still yelling for his friend.

He wasn't running for very long when he came to a small room, and his heart nearly stopped beating at what he found. Donna lay in the middle of the room, curled up on the floor in a fetal position. A large net had been thrown over her, each edge fused immovably to the floor with metal clasps. And above her...above her, the ceiling was descending, the long, sharp spikes that hung from it coming closer and closer to her prone body with every second.

He instantly ran to her side, kneeling down to get as close to the redhead as possible. Her eyes were closed, but he could hear her soft whimpers over the grinding of the ceiling, and saw silent tears trailing down her cheeks to land on the floor. She'd given up on him. Through the thick mesh of the net, he grabbed her shaking hand. "I'm here."

Her eyes sprung open, and she gave a frightened gasp. Barely sparing a moment to look up at the ceiling, which was now getting dangerously close, Jack began examining the clasps connecting the net to the floor. He tried pulling them from the ground, attempting to pry them away from the floorboards with his bare fingers but, like the doorway to the building, they wouldn't budge. "Move, _dammit!_"

Finally, breathing heavily from anger, and hating himself for forgetting to bring along the pickaxe, he stopped, leaning over her body out of sheer hopelessness. "I can't get you out, Donna," he choked out.

She gave a quiet sniffle. "I-I know," she replied, her voice on the verge of tears. "Get out."

Jack smiled sadly. "Over my dead body." And then, ducking his head down just in time to avoid being struck by one of the spikes above them, he lay down next to her; curling around her back and winding his arms around her shaking body. She didn't protest, but instantly gripped his arm and gave a sob. He wasn't going to leave her. He would live on, find the micro-key and find their friends, but for now, all he could do was give her someone to die with.

The glinting ends of the spikes were now only centimetres from his cheek. Holding his breath, and tightening his grip on the woman beside him, Jack gave the back of Donna's head a quick kiss through the net, and waited for the darkness to arrive.

* * *

**Oh, _god!_ How melancholy was that? Sorry everyone! :D**

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed it despite how utterly depressing it was, and remember; reviewers get pin-ups of a shirtless William Russell! If you don't know who that is, you need to look him up. You'll get what I'm saying. ;)**

**Oh, and this chapters dedicated to earthquakes. Because I love them.**


	26. The Screaming Jungle Part 5

**A/N: Hullo everyone! I just updated Golden Slumbers, (About time, I know) so I'm in a particularly angsty mood, but I managed to battle my erm, angstiness head on, and give you another delightful chapter of this lovely fic. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys it!**

**~M&M**

KittyKatZorse: Oooh I know! Ironic thing is, I'm now on vacation in California, which is the last place you want to go if you don't like earthquakes. Hope you enjoy this chapter; there's a lot more lovely banter between Jack and Donna. :)

Dark-Wiccan-Goddess: Haha I was just sitting in my school's hallways when it happened, and it wasn't until someone nearby noticed the entire school was shaking that I realized what it was. I thought it was machinery or something at first, since we _never_ get nice things like earthquakes in Ontario. At least, not until now.

SciFiGeek14: Sounds freaky...but as I type this my stomach's rumbling away. I need food. Thanks for sharing, now you're just making me even hungrier... *Grumble*

Jasper winked: I'm actually on vacation right now, but I had the good sense to dish out for a laptop before setting off into the wild, internet-free yonder. I don't think I could survive a whole vacation without internet. :S And aww that last bit was rather lovely wasn't it? In the original Ian gets trapped for _much_ longer, so Barbara's all alone the entire time the (rather flimsy-looking) spikes are coming down. Stupid Ian... But yeah, both Jack and Donna are really interesting characters, so it's very easy for me to write them in a scene together.

Thanks so, _so_ much for all the amazing reviews, people!

* * *

Their breaths echoed hoarsely across the small room, interrupted from time to time by a whimper from Donna, or the sound of Jack's toga against the net whenever he pulled his friend closer. A minute passed, and then another. Donna opened her eyes. "Shouldn't we be dead by now?" she whispered.

"You should be," Jack whispered back, before turning his face upwards to see what was taking so long. Above them, the spikes still hung in mid-air, ready to impale their victims at any moment, but they were motionless; their descent halted only moments before they would have reached them.

"Right, cause that makes me feel much better," Donna was muttering to herself, fingers curling around the net that covered her in frustration.

Suddenly, the spikes jerked back to life, and both friends jumped in response to the loud, powerful growl they emitted. This time, however, the metal daggers pulled away, travelling upwards until they were fully retracted back into the ceiling. At Donna's sides, the impenetrable clasps holding the net to the ground sprung open, and she instantly threw it away, elbowing Jack in the nose as she did so.

"Arrgh! Donna!"

"Sorry!" she squeaked, sitting up and throwing off what was left of the net. "You shouldn't have put your nose there!"

He sighed, and gave his nose a rub before looking around at the room. Apart from them, there were two tall, wooden doors, and a small glistening in the corner near the ceiling that was obviously some form of surveillance system. "How do we get out?"

"By asking nicely," Donna replied with a smile before following his gaze up to the camera. "_Oi!_" she suddenly yelled, making the time agent beside her wince. "I don't know what you're playing at, but those bloody spikes of yours nearly killed me! So I'm telling you, you'd better let us out _right now_, or I'll find a way out myself and throttle you with my bare hands!"

There was no reply. Jack sighed. "Well, it was worth a try."

Donna shrugged, and glared at the camera for a second before she noticed what Jack was still doing. "Oi, Flyboy! You can let go of my hand now." His fingers were wound so tightly around her wrist that it was beginning to go numb, but he just gave his head a shake and continued to rub his aching nose with his free hand.

"No way. If I let you out of my sight one more time, the Doctor will kill me." He paused, thinking this over, then added, "Properly."

Donna just gave an annoyed huff, and decided that holding hands with Jack wasn't half as bad as being impaled. Speaking of which, how had they gotten out of that one? And how were they going to get out of this room? She frowned, and stared at the time agent sitting in front of her. "You were going to die with me."

He shrugged in response. "Well I wasn't just going to leave you there, was I? Plus, I would've come back."

"Yeah but still..." She gave his hand a squeeze. "Jack, I'm sorry I shouted at you earlier on."

"You're always shouting at me."

"I know. It's just..." She gave a sniffle, and Jack stiffened. "I just feel so bad that you had to..." She trailed off and, clasping a hand over her mouth, let out a harsh sob.

Jack pulled his hand away. The Doctor could do what he wanted to him; the last thing he needed right now was for Donna to have an emotional breakdown. "Um, Donna...just, um-"

"It's j-just," she wailed as tears began to cascade down her freckled cheeks. "You were gonna die with me, and all I ever bloody do is shout at you! And th-then I was gonna die as well! And I was never gonna see Rose...or my mum...or Gramps...or that _stupid_ Sp-spaceman ever again! Or _you!_"

Jack stood up and shuffled his feet awkwardly, wondering what the hell he should do next. Finally, he reached out and gave her a couple of pats on the head. "There, there..." he mumbled, feeling completely self-conscious and a little bit weirded out.

Suddenly, unable to keep in the torrent of emotions she was feeling, Donna threw her head back and let out what sounded like a cross between a sob and a very loud scream. Jack backed away a few feet, and then, unable to take it anymore, turned on his heels and fled to the nearest door, kicking it desperately as he did so. "Let me out, dammit! Let me out, _now!_"

As Donna's howls increased in volume, aggravating him even further, Jack continued to kick the door, finally stopping when it suddenly slid open, and he fell through the doorway in mid-kick. He lay there for a few seconds, breathing in the scent of pure, beautiful freedom, and then looked up when something moved past him. Donna was walking down the hallway away from him. "C'mon Flyboy! We've still got a key to find!"

He clambered to his feet. "Donna?"

She turned around and offered him a smug grin. Her cheeks were still blotchy and red, and her makeup was still running from her fit, but she was looking at him cheerfully as if nothing had happened. "Yes Jack?"

He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Are...um, are you okay?"

"Yup! Perfectly fine! Molto bene!" She walked closer and gave him a patronizing poke in the chest. "First rule of high school. If shouting at them doesn't help, then just make them feel as awkward as possible until they let you go. Works every time."

He just stared. "So all that stuff you said about being sorry...you didn't mean it?"

"Of course not. I hate you." Then, with a determined grin, Donna walked off, leaving a _very_ confused Jack in her wake.

* * *

They'd only been walking for a couple of minutes when there was a flash of movement up ahead. Jack stuck his arm out, signalling for Donna to stop, and was more than pleased when she didn't even try to bite it. At the next corner, they saw a tall, elderly man appear and begin to walk towards them. He was thin and bearded, and wore white robes that reminded both of them of Arbitan's.

"Look!" Donna whispered over Jack's shoulder. "He's wearing a...a...a habit! Just like the monk's one!"

Jack grinned, and pulled out a small, white tube from who-knows-where. "Nice one. Here, have some M&Ms."

Dona took it from him, giving him a confused look as she poured a few into her hand. "Why...?"

"I keep them on me in case I need to shut the Doctor up for a bit. He can talk your ear off, y'know?"

"Right. Well thanks, they're very...hold on! Did you just give me this so I wouldn't-"

"Why have you come here? Who are you?" Both friends stopped talking and stared at the old man in front of them.

"'Lo!" Donna mumbled in between mouthfuls of M&Ms. "I'm Donna and this is Flyboy."

"No! I'm not called-"

Donna threw an M&M at his head and then, on second thought, popped another into her mouth. "Shut up, Flyboy. Who're you meant to be, then?"

The man gave her a distasteful look. "I am Darrius. Why-"

"Right. Did you set all these traps?"

"Yes. Now, why-" Darrius was interrupted once again when a red dot sailed through the air towards him and hit him in the chest.

"You. Nearly. Killed. Me!" With each word, Donna took a step closer and pelted him with more M&Ms. "I was gonna get sliced up because of you!"

Jack grabbed her by the arms, trying to restrain the woman and stop her from yelling at Darrius. "Sorry!" he yelled at the confused old man, who was looking quite distraught by now. "So sorry. The M&M's usually work on my other friend. Wonderful man. You'd love him. Everyone does. Amazing hair. I'm assuming you let us go? Great, thanks for that! _Donna!_ Eat your M&Ms!"

By now Donna had calmed down. Finally fighting the time agent off, she held her ground beside him, throwing her meanest glares at Darrius and, in as threatening a manner as she could muster, popped another M&M into her mouth. She turned towards Jack. "I prefer Smarties."

"Well you're not getting any." He turned back to the old man and smiled. "Sorry, weren't you trying to ask something?"

Over the past minute or two, Darrius had managed to back away from the two time travellers, and it took many encouraging smiles and a charming wink from Jack before he came any closer. "Why are you here?"

"We're looking for something. A key to the Conscience of Marinus."

Darrius raised an eyebrow. "What interest do you have in the key? Are you a Voord? You don't resemble them, and yet..."

"Nah. Arbitan sent us. He's trying to round up the keys so he can get the machine going again."

"I do not know you. That is a lie."

"It is not!" Donna cut in, still munching on as many M&Ms as she could fit into her mouth. "He was all alone on the island, and he didn't have anyone else to send! Look! He gave us these travel dials!"

Donna stuck her wrist out, grabbing Jack's and forcing him to do the same. Darrius came closer and inspected the wristbands. "Give me one of them. I shall examine it. If the coordinates are set correctly, and the proper journey has been programmed into the device, then I shall bring you the key."

Donna glanced at Jack, who nodded, and then tore her travel dial from her wrist. "This had better not be a waste of time," she hissed at the old man. "It took me ages to get that thing on!"

"I will not be long," Darrius replied, and then retreated into a nearby room.

* * *

"I spy...with my little eye...something beginning with...'D'."

Jack gave a fed up sigh, and examined the empty hallway around them. "Darkness."

"No."

"Darrius?" Jack looked around hopefully.

"Hasn't come back yet. Come on! It's so easy!

"...Doctor."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Do you see the Doctor anywhere around here? Because I definitely don't."

"Donna, as long as you have faith in him, the Doctor is always with you."

Donna stared at him. "Never..._never_ talk like that again."

Jack just grinned. "Oh alright then. I give up. What was it?"

Donna smiled back at him. "Donna."

Jack's grin disappeared. "_Donna?_"

"Hello!"

"You can't spy yourself! It's one of the first rules of the game!"

"Is not! You can always-"

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"

At the sound of Darrius's scream, both Jack and Donna froze, their argument forgotten. Jack was the first to move, running down the corridor and into the room they'd seen the old man enter earlier. "Come on!"

Hot on his heels, Donna ran after him. They bounded past the doorway and found themselves in a large room, filled with papers and plant specimens. On the other side of the room, however, lay Darrius, and both travellers gave a gasp of horror when they saw him.

His eyes were closed and several marks lined his neck. Jack bent down to examine them, and looked up at Donna. "He's been strangled."

"Is he okay?"

Jack swallowed. "He's got a pulse, but it's very slow. I don't think he's got much time left, Donna."

A tear slipped down Donna's cheek; a real one, this time. "B-but I never even told him your real name." Jack just placed a hand on her back. If Darrius died then there'd be no one to tell them where the micro-key was, and the thought of searching this entire place without any clues filled him with dread.

Suddenly, Darrius's eyes sprang open, and he gave a deep gasp. Donna leapt up with a scream, startled by his sudden resurrection. But the man wasn't back for good. Jack could see, from his shaking limbs and the way his eyes seemed to look straight through them, that he wasn't far away from death. It was a look he was only too familiar with.

Darrius was trying to speak. "The key..."

Jack leant in closer, and Donna followed suit behind him. "What?"

"The key...it's in my study" the old man wheezed, one arms flailing in the direction of the next room. "You must not stay here! Find it, and leave! Please!"

"But where is it?" Jack asked. "I'm sorry, but we need to know exactly where it is!"

"The idol...I put a false key on its head...and when the false key was taken...I put my traps in motion. I haven't long to live...have I?"

Donna took the man by the hand. "I know you don't know who we are, and I know you're scared, but you need to trust us, and tell us where it is, okay?"

"Closer..." he whispered back, and both Donna and Jack exchanged looks before leaning in towards him. "D...E...three...O...two."

They stared at him. "What do you mean?" Donna asked impatiently. "How's that meant to help us?"

But Darrius didn't answer. His gasps were becoming louder, and his glazed eyes were staring up at the ceiling. "The darkness...the darkness and the neverending whispering," he managed to gasp out. "It's coming again. The jungle is coming. When the whispering starts, and when the darkness falls...it's death, I tell you. _Death_."

And then, eyes rolling back into his head, the old man went still, his final words wheezing out from his throat like a dying wind.

Darrius was dead.

And now it was up to Jack and Donna to find the key by themselves.

* * *

**Aw poor Darrius...serves him right though. The guy playing him in the original is _rubbish_. Can't act his way out of a paper bag. (No, I don't know what that expression means either. I just made it up on the spot. I think.) It's especially rubbish because he gets those _really_ epic last lines. I want those lines. When I'm dying, I'm going to make sure they're the last thing I say.**

**Anyway, It's my birthday in 24 days, which means I'm expecting lots of reviews. Remember, I'll be 18, so I'll be legally allowed to hire personal assassins. And yes, I can afford them. I'm a cashier. I can do what I want.**

**This chapter is dedicated to erm, Scientologists everywhere. Because I'm in Santa Barbara right now, and there's a church of Scientology nearby. Plus, I saw Knight and Day last night.**


	27. The Screaming Jungle Part 6

**A/N: Hullo. You might not remember me, but my name's M&M, and many moons ago I started writing a rubbish fic which, surprisingly, quite a few of you seemed to rather enjoy. Or maybe you were just being polite. I've no idea. Anyway, back to reality, I really am sorry about the long wait for this, everyone! Lots of stuff happened over the past few months. I had to do my driving test, I turned 18, school started, *cough* Ijustgotabitlazy *cough*, I got Twitter and became addicted to that, I got extreme writer's block, I decided to switch mediums and have a go at fanvids for a while, and finally, I fell into a pit of despair and self-loathing where all I could bring myself to do was eat rice mixed with tuna and binge myself on Queen music. Which isn't half as fun as it sounds. But I'm back now! Hooray! Although...I might disappear for a while again soon. I'm going to be participating in NaNoWriMo next month for the first time ever, which is something I'm both super excited and extremely nervous about. (If you've never heard about it before now, I'm not explaining it to you. Look it up, m'dear.) Of course, this means I'll be rather busy, and probably won't have time for the likes of you lot. But I promise I'll try and update quite a bit until then. (And yes, I know. I _really_ need to update Golden Slumbers.) We'll see how that goes. Anyway, whatevs. Here's the fic! Hope you enjoy it, hope you review it, and I'm gonna make a supersonic man out of you...no. *Grits teeth* Must. Stop. Listening. To. Queen...**

**~M&M**

Alright, I know. It's been _months_ since you gorgeous people reviewed, so it would feel a bit awkward to only be replying now. So, while some of you might depend on my oh so witty remarks as proof that free will and human kindness still exist in this mess of a world, I think I'll just leave it for now. But thank you so much for your reviews anyway! (And for the lovely birthday wishes! Even though that was months ago. Let's just pretend today's my birthday. I'd rather like that.)

* * *

A few seconds passed, and neither of them moved. And, for obvious reasons, neither did Darrius. Finally, Jack managed to tear his eyes from the body, and heaved a sigh before draping a nearby cloth over the still form that lay before them. Wiping the lingering tears from her cheeks, Donna turned towards the time agent, and was about to try and think of something to say when something so terrifyingly horrible happened that she could scarcely believe it. Without any warning, a loud, boisterous voice filled the room; a voice that Donna had learned to despise with every single fibre of her being.

_"We were at the beach! Everyone had matching towels! Somebody went under the dock, and there they saw...a rock! It wasn't a rock! I was a Rock Lobster!"_

Jack couldn't help it. He let out a loud bark of laughter and had to bend over to catch his breath, face turning red as he did so. Donna too turned red, but for a completely different reason; the voice was coming from the pocket of her ripped toga. Without even looking she slid her hand into the pocket and quickly retrieved the source of the noise; her cellphone. She paused to glower at her 'friend' before pressing the answer key and slowly raising the device to her ear, all the while trying to think of how she would execute her revenge on the person she knew had changed her ringtone.

"This," she hissed menacingly, eyes flickering down to the body on the floor. "is _not_ a good time."

The only answer she received from the other end of the line was a collection of loud, rather irritating sounds that made the redhead jerk away from the cellphone in alarm. There was an enormous bang, the sound of something popping loudly, and what sounded like something-or someone-crashing to the floor. What followed was a series of shouts and scuffles, and it occurred to Donna that someone was fighting over the phone. Finally, there was a final, victorious shout from the other end, and a breathless, all too-familiar voice panted out, "Donna!"

Donna's mouth dropped open. "_Doctor? _How-"

"No! No, just-sh-sh-sh-sh-"

"But Doctor, what-"

"Donna! Shut up for a second!

"It's the Doctor?" Jack piped up excitedly. "Can I talk to him?"

"No!" The Doctor shouted before Donna had a chance to even reply. "You're not coming anywhere near this phone _ever again!_"

"What?" Donna spluttered, surprised at how harsh he'd sounded and wondering how he'd heard the time agent, who had drifted to the other side of the room.

"Sorry, Donna. I was talking to someone else. What did you say?"

"What?"

"What?"

"What?"

"What?"

"_What?_"

"What the hell's going on?" Jack asked loudly, now beginning to feel rather left out. Donna covered the phone's mouthpiece and hissed at him to be quiet. He scowled, and she rolled her eyes at him before returning to her slightly insane conversation with the Doctor.

"You changed my ringtone."

There was a long pause. "No I didn't."

"It's Rock Lobster."

"Is it really?" he asked casually.

"Yeah. And who else do you think would have changed it to that specific song?"

"...Yartek?"

"No, not bloody Yartek! You know it was you, and you're too bloody-"

"Donna!"

"_What?_"

"It's time for you to fully acknowledge my status as a superior being."

"You..."

"Meaning I need you to shut up. This is important."

She took a deep breath. "Fine. What's so important?"

"I have a message for you."

"From who?"

"Someone lovely. Now be quiet and listen. You need to do what Darrius says."

"But he's-"

"Dead, I know. S'not your fault, Donna."

Donna sniffed bravely. "I know...Thanks."

"Oh, no. That's not me saying it. It's part of the message."

"Oh, thanks a lot," she muttered sarcastically. "Then who-"

"Nope! No talking! That's not part of the message, by the way. Just me. Anyway, you need to remember everything he said, get into his study, and find the key before it's too late."

For the first time in this rather odd conversation, it occurred to Donna that what the Doctor was trying to tell her might actually be important. "What do you mean, too late?"

There was a pause. "You have until the darkness comes, and when-"

"When the whispering starts." Across the room, Jack stared at her, alarmed at what she'd just said. 'What's going on?' he mouthed, but she just shook her head and turned away. "Doctor, what did he mean by that? What darkness?"

There was another pause, as if the Doctor was mulling it over in his head. "I can't tell you, Donna."

"What, because you don't know, or because it's not part of the message?"

"One of those. You need to be as quick as you can, alright? I won't be there to help you with this."

"Why not? Where are you?"

"Millennius, of course. There's more."

"More what?"

"More to the message. You need to remember _everything_ Darrius told you."

It took a moment for Donna to get at what he was trying to say. "Those letters and numbers?"

"Exactly. I need you to use your super duper temping skills and remember them _right _now."

"I don't..."

"Donna, we both know Jack won't be able to remember. Just try your best."

"But I can't-"

"_Tell me._"

She closed her eyes and concentrated. "D..."

"Go on. You can do it."

"Yeah, I can if you'd shut up for a second. It's...D...E...three...O...two." There was no answer. "You still there?"

"Yup!"

"Well, did I get it right?"

"How should I know? I wasn't there when he told you."

"Right, cause you knowing about everything else that's going on makes perfect sense."

"I didn't know about it. I was just delivering-"

"The message, I know. So what do we do now?"

"You hurry. And I mean it Donna, because time's running out. You need to get out of there before the darkness comes and before the whispering starts."

"_But I don't know what to do!_" She felt herself beginning to panic. "You keep saying that but Jack and I haven't got a clue what-"

"Donna! Shut up!" She fell silent. "You can do this."

Donna took a deep, calming breath, and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, alright."

"That was me, by the way. Just in case you were wondering if it was-"

She smiled. "Part of the message, I know."

"Ooh, wait. Hold on..." There was the faint sound of someone talking in the background, and then the Doctor returned to the phone. "I've got to go."

"But-"

The commotion on his end was becoming louder, and she could just about hear somebody shouting hysterically. "I'm serious. If you're going to get out of there alive, you need to start searching _right_ now."

"But-"

"Donna, I _really_ can't talk anymore. Something's going on here. Wait, I'll just...Hold on, what? What do you mean, Rose is-" The line went dead.

Donna lowered the phone and slowly turned around to stare at Jack, who was looking more bewildered than ever.

"We've got to go," she whispered urgently.

* * *

To have said that the door slowly creaked open, sending shivers down Donna's spine and making her skin crawl would have been a understatement. In fact, it was only once Donna found herself sprawled over Jack's body, and spluttering through the cloud of dust that had accumulated around them that she realized that slow moving doors cursed with creepy sound effects were easily the lesser of two evils. She sat up slowly, brushing slivers of rotting wood from her hair, and stared at Jack. "What was that meant to be?"

He gaped up at her as he rubbed his sore shoulder. "Sorry. I've been doing a lot of pushing today. Didn't expect the door to come down on the first try."

She groaned and pulled herself to her feet, glancing back at the room behind them and shivering at the sight of Darrius' body. She couldn't see it because of the sheet Jack had draped over it, but still... She pulled her eyes away and gave her arms a comforting rub. It was either that or ask Jack for a hug. She stared at the room around them. "First the door, now this place. Seems like everything here's coming down."

Jack looked up, and instantly knew what Donna meant. Compared with the sleek organization of the rest of his hideout, with its carefully prepared booby traps and clever mechanics, Darrius' study looked like it had been hit by a small hurricane. The walls were made not of stone, but of wood, as if this room had been added to the building as an afterthought, and were covered in gaping holes, which the old man had unsuccessfully attempted to cover using long wooden planks. Outside, the sun was beginning to set, and the small rays of light that slipped through the gaps in the wall were the only things lighting the room.

Through the dim light, the two companions could just about make out the outline of several desks that lined the room. They were covered with various specimens of potted plant-life, which towered over the humans and reached up towards the ceiling. Due to this, the rest of Darrius' research had no where else to go, so the floor was littered with scraps of paper and thick piles of books. The only thing in the room that was seemed untouched was the small glass jars sitting on the wooden shelves that hung from the walls.

"It's like it's been...attacked."

Jack looked at his friend. "You said the Doctor was talking like we didn't have much time left. What if whatever did this is what's coming for us?"

Donna just shook her head. "L-Let's just find the key before we find out what he was talking about."

But when we first got here Rose said that she'd heard something. And earlier..." Jack frowned. "You're right. Let's get out of here as soon as possible."

"Right. So how...?" She gestured to the clutter that surrounded them.

"Well, let's start with what Darrius told us."

"D-E-3-O-2?" Donna recited from memory, now feeling rather thankful that the Doctor had forced her to remember it. "What do you think it means?"

Jack shrugged. "Dunno. Could be some sort of code...or a combination."

"What, to a safe or something?"

"Maybe. Let's just get going and hope it begins to make sense. I'll take the front of the room, and you take the back."

Donna nodded sleepily. It had been a long day, and through the slits between the wooden boards she could see the sun low in the horizon, tempting her to fall asleep. Behind her, as if to keep her mind on the present, Jack lit a small gas lantern he'd found, and its light caused the shadows from the towering fauna to waver and dance against the flimsy walls of the room.

She began shifting through the old man's belongings, setting aside a few pots of overgrown sunflowers to get at the piles of books under them, and grimacing at the tracks of dirt they left underneath her fingernails. For a few minutes she dug through the mess, and then stopped when her fingers hit metal, a smile growing on her face. "I think I've found it!"

"What, the key?"

"Not the key, you dumbo! The safe!"

The time agent instantly rushed over, and they didn't waste time; clearing away the piles of books, and beaming when they finally found themselves looking at a large, metallic box. The front of it was adorned with a large silver dial, surrounded with the figures that would make up the combination. They knelt in front of the safe, still pushing away the mess in front of it, and Donna frowned. "There's no numbers on it."

She was right. The figures that circled the dial were the first eight letters of the alphabet. For a moment, they sat staring at it, and then Donna crossed her arms with a huff. "And here I was thinking it was going to be easy."

"Stop complaining. We're this close; we just need to decode it properly." Jack gazed at the dial for a moment, and then smiled. "Maybe the numbers are the number of times we need to turn it in between each letter."

"Well, go on then!"

Jack began to turn the dial, and listened intently for a click with each letter he passed. But however hard he tried, the safe stayed silent, and remained closed. "It's not working. Donna, you're _sure_ that's the right sequence?"

"What, you're saying I can't remember it?"

"No! I'm just..." He shook his head. "Forget it. I'll try again."

* * *

Ten minutes later they were no further than before, and Donna was beginning to lose her patience. "Stupid monk..."

"What?"

"Well, it's obvious what's happened, isn't it?

"What?"

"When darkness falls? When the whispering starts? _Really?_ Last minutes of his life, he started having a bit of a ramble. Everything he told us, it's just a load of-"

"What, so the Doctor was just having us on?"

"Maybe!" She threw her hands up in the air in irritation. "I don't know, alright?"

"Well, have you got any better ideas?" Jack snapped, and Donna fell silent. "Look, it's the only lead we've got. We can't just give up now, or we'll never meet up with the others. The combination doesn't work on this safe, but the least we can do is have a look at the rest of the room, okay?"

Donna mumbled something under her breath and continued to search through the mess. She'd finally thought she'd done something useful for a change, and it been a complete mistake. "Whatever."

She spent the next few minutes shifting through Darrius' notebooks, raising an eyebrow at a few of the titles. 'The Tempo of Destruction'? What was this guy, a sci-fi writer? Ha. Haha. That was a rather funny joke, wasn't it? She grinned and flipped the book open, smile slowly fading as she began to read.

_'Nature has a fixed tempo of destruction,' _the first page read. _'Phenomena such as that of water dripping on to a stone might take thousands of years to produce any sign of wear. While this idea is scarcely novel, it rejuvenates itself in the notion that the slow process could be sped up. For example, the wear on the stone could occur within the span of one day. Of course, this is only one example produced by this idea. The rates of other natural processes, such as the moon's relation with ocean tides, or the growth of organic matter, could be changed drastically, leading to further advancements in any or all branches of scientific research.'_

Years working as a temp had taught her that the most relevant piece of information could be found at the end of a document, so she skimmed to the final entry. She had only to read for a few seconds before looking up at her companion. "Jack. Look at this." She tossed the book to him, and he instantly opened it up to where she'd been reading.

_'Several new discoveries,'_ he read, his brow creased. _'The experiment now has harsh reactions to both the absence of light and sound, which can easily be fixed through simple trial and error. The growth accelerator, however, is another matter. It has changed nature's tempo of destruction entirely.'_ He stopped reading and looked at her. "Growth accelerator? What is this, a sci-fi film?"

"I know! That's what I said!"

There was a pause. "You said...hold on."

"What?"

"This...experiment reacts to sound-"

"And the absence of light," Donna finished. "The whispering, and the darkness, right?"

"Right! So whatever the Doctor warned us about will..." Suddenly, Jack trailed off, eyes widening. "Donna."

"Jack? What is it?"

"I think we just ran out of time." At her confused expression he merely pointed to the slits in the wall. "Look outside."

She turned slowly, eyes focusing on the gaps, and gasped.

Outside, what was left of the sun wavered for a moment before it dipped down and disappeared over the horizon. And, save the small gas lantern on the desk beside them, the entire room was plunged into darkness.

And outside...outside something was stirring; moving speedily through the jungle and coming closer with every second that went by. It was accompanied only by the sound of whispering, which grew louder than ever, finally ascending to a terrifying scream.

* * *

**Gaspé! Oh My Lady Gaga what's going to happen next? What's coming to get them? How did the Doctor call Donna? And what on earth is D-E-3-O-2? Anyone who guesses that last one is an amazing person who should be worshipped and given lots and lots of biscuits. (Shut up if you've seen the original and already know. You're cramping my style.) **

**This chapter is dedicated to jelly babies. I was eating some the other day, and I looked at the ingredients. _Wow._ Did you know that there's stinging nettles in those things? Plus, there were lots of little labels saying that they are part of a healthy, active lifestyle.**

**...I _love_ jelly babies. And they love me.**


End file.
